


A (Drunken) Choice With No Regrets

by EvangelineSinclair



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Amusement Parks, Awkward Eren Yeager, Cocky Levi, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Firefighter Levi, First Dates, Fluff, Forced Marriage, Hate to Love, Humor, Jealous Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Light Angst, M/M, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Past Jean Kirstein/Eren Yeager, Pining Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Sassy Armin Arlert, Sexual Tension, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-06-05 16:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6712759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvangelineSinclair/pseuds/EvangelineSinclair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Is that a wedding band on your finger?!”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Holy shit!”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Eren, you got married?”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Apparently!”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/><p>When Eren Jäger wakes up after a rough night out, he finds a wedding band on his finger and a very naked Levi Ackerman in his loft. All Eren wants to do is put an end to this drunken marriage and move on with his life, but Levi apparently has other plans. </p><p>After many awkward exchanges (including some well-placed sausage innuendo), they manage to reach a compromise. Now Eren has to endure 60 days of married life with Levi, and Levi has 60 days to get Eren to fall in love with him or follow through with the annulment.</p><p>May the more stubborn man win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm watching the episode of friends where Ross and Rachel drunkenly get married in Vegas and thought, hey, that would be a funny thing for Levi and Eren to do! So this happened. Kinda woke up at like 3AM (to the episode playing on TV) and decided to write this, so it's unedited haha!
> 
> Short opening chapter, will post the next one tonight!
> 
> Rating WILL change :)
> 
> Also, click on the links! The apartment is SO CUTE.

Armin knocked on the door to 725 at the [Riverloft Apartments](http://www.riverloftapartments.com/apartments/photogallery.do?lid=en_US&pid=1646#) for the tenth time. “Eren! Eren are you ok? Eren!”

No response.

The blonde was starting to worry; it wasn’t like Eren to ignore him for this long, even if he was sleeping. Granted, it was only 10 am on a Sunday, and clearly Eren had been out drinking the night before (more reason for Armin to be worried). However, the brunette hadn’t responded to any of his texts or calls last night, and Armin had spent the better half of the night covering his ass from a prying Mikasa.

“Eren!” He called again.

When he still got no response, he decided enough was enough and fetched the spare key from under the doormat.

The spacious loft was surprisingly clean, and Armin noticed the shoes that had been haphazardly thrown on the ground-along with Eren’s wallet, sunglasses, and jacket-that formed a trail from the door through the kitchen and living room to the stairs up to his lofted bedroom.

“Eren Jäger! When your best friend knocks on your door for ten minutes, you answer the fucking door!” Armin called, walking up the stairs.

A low groan emitted from under the covers.

Eren slowly sat up from the bed, movements rather zombie-like. His hair was wilder than usual, sticking up like an afro, and he was squinting even though the curtains were closed. “Armin?” He croaked, voice cracking and scratchy. He blinked, his heterochromatic eyes dull with sleep.

Armin stifled a laugh. The boy was so clearly hung over it was almost pathetic. He grabbed the water bottle from Eren’s gym bag and handed it to the struggling brunette. “Here, drink some water before you do anything else.”

“Thanks.” Eren’s voice was barely a whisper as he reached for the bottle with a wince. Every muscle in his body ached, and he felt a wave of nausea wash over him as he sat up to take a swig from his water bottle.

“Jesus, what happened to you?” Armin chuckled.

“Um…” Eren propped himself up on his pillows, rubbing his face. “Let’s see…I decided to go to Atlantic City—”

“By yourself?!”

Eren covered his ears. “Oh my god, don’t yell!”

“Sorry. Hang on.” Armin ran downstairs and grabbed the Brita pitcher upstairs. “Here.” He picked up the water bottle to refill, but Eren snatched the pitcher from him and started drinking directly from the spout. “Or you can do that.”

When he finally felt more human, Eren put the pitcher down on the nightstand and rubbed his hands over his face again. “Anyway, I went to Atlantic City, had a shot-or ten-and the next thing I remember, I was making out with some random dude and dancing on the bar. God, don’t tell Mikasa; I promised her I wouldn’t let the whole breakup with Jean get to me-why are you looking at me like that?”

Armin was staring at him, sky blue eyes wider than normal, mouth open and moving soundlessly.

“Earth to Armin.” Eren waved a hand in front of his best friend’s face. “Oi, Armin, are you okay?”

The other boy reached over and grasped Eren’s left hand. “E-Eren. You…what the fuck did you do?”

“What?” Eren frowned.

Armin lifted the brunette’s left hand up and held it in front of his face. Eren frowned. What was he—

Then he saw the gleaming [ band](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d1/e3/b8/d1e3b8578deb6174a07f3e6b4f6f15a3.jpg) on his ring finger. Any other circumstance, he would have admired the ring and how the shade of rose gold complimented the platinum. But right now, the only thought going through his mind was ‘ _holy shit, Holy shit, Holy Shit, HOLY SHIT, **HOLY SHIT**!_ ’

“What the hell?! Armin, what the hell is that?!”

“It looks like a wedding ring…”

“Fuck! Armin, fuck! This is a fucking dream right? Pinch me, quick!”

Armin reached over wordlessly and pinched Eren’s cheek.

“Ow! Fuck that hurt. Shit, shit, shit! Armin, what do I do?” Eren’s eyes flew between the band on his finger and Armin, desperately begging the blonde to give him an answer. “Damn it, Armin; you’re the one with the big brains, tell me what to do!”

“You…you got married?” Armin finally got out.

“ _Apparently_!” Eren waved the ringed hand in his face. “Shit, Mikasa is going to murder me! I don’t even know who I married or where he or she is now!”

“I can’t believe…Eren, who—”

At that moment, the door to Eren's bathroom swung open.

Out walked Levi Ackerman, wearing nothing but a towel around his hips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Again, sorry this first chapter is so short! I feel like the forced marriage story has been beaten over the head so hopefully this was/is going to be enjoyable! 
> 
> And update on the series for those who are following Office Correspondence-smut is in the works! I now have SUCH profound respect for smut writers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Ch2 on the same day!! Warning: OOC, but necessary for the plot and humor.

“Oi, what are you two shouting about? Hello, Armin. Long time no see.”

Levi Ackerman exited the bathroom, one hand rubbing a towel through his hair. Beads of water rolled down his muscled torso to slip beneath the folds of the towel, held up by his free hand, which was sporting a [ring](http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/RobbinsBros/0406762_T?%24lg%24) that paired with the one on Eren’s finger.

“Um…what…uh…” Eren seemed to have temporarily lost his ability to form words that were longer than one syllable. “You…how…”

“Since it seems like it’s going to take you a week to get that sentence out, mind if I interrupt?” The raven walked over. “First, don’t leave your key just sitting on the bathroom floor you dumbass; I thought this was a gift from your mom.” He reached over and looped a leather string and gold key around the still-gaping brunette’s neck. “Second, since it looks like you’re not getting out of bed anytime soon, mind if I raid the fridge?”

“Uh…”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Do you want anything for breakfast?”

“Um…”

Armin quickly cut in. “Wait, wait. What exactly happened last night?”

Levi glanced over at the boy who was sitting crossed-legged on the bed. “I would think that was obvious to someone as smart as you. After all, you two were just screaming about it minutes ago.” He held up his left hand. “We got hitched.”

“Yeah, but… _how_ …?”

“Well, two people stand in front of a priest and say ‘I do’ with—”

“I know _that_. But how did we get from Eren trying to drink away his breakup to getting married to you in Atlantic City?” Armin interjected.

“Ask Eren; I need some food.” Levi turned to leave.

Eren grabbed his arm. “Wait. I uh…I don’t know…what happened.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

Even after all those years of not seeing him, that sharp, piercing silver gaze still made Eren nervous. “Um…no, sir.”

“Tch. I’m not your boss anymore and we’re not in an office; that was five years ago. And you seriously don’t remember anything from last night?”

“No, of course I remember; I was there!” Eren frowned. “Right? I was there, right?”

“Christ, Eren.” Levi pulled the desk chair over and sat down, crossing his bare legs and folding his arms across his chest. “I didn’t realize you were that much of a lightweight; you seemed completely coherent.”

He swiveled to face Armin. “Basically, bright eyes here was wasted in Atlantic City and I was out with my squad. Glasses immediately recognized Eren, who had just climbed onto the bar and was dancing like a stripper, and one thing led to another, and here we are.”

Eren buried his face in his hands again as bits and pieces of the night before started to come back to him. He recalled drinking a Whiskey Collins when someone had offered to buy him a shot-which then became two, then three, etc. He vaguely recalled being hugged by Hanji later in the night, slapped on the back by some gigantic blonde guy introduced as Erwin…Hanji had ordered them all another round…then nothing.

“Ugh, I remember Hanji and another round of shots sometime late in the night…that must’ve been before you took advantage of me and blindsided me with the question,” Eren groaned.

“You shit. You asked _me_ to marry _you_ ,” Levi corrected, amused.

“ _What_? Why would I do something like that?”

“You were saying something about some horseface being a complete asshole and ruining your life, then out of the blue, you popped the question.”

“Well, why did you say yes?” Eren asked desperately.

Before Levi could answer, a pager went off in a pile of clothes on the floor.

“Fuck, now I can’t even make breakfast.” Levi bolted from the chair and grabbed his clothes from the floor. He headed back into the bathroom, not bothering to shut the door. “That’s the station; I gotta run.”

Armin frowned. “You mentioned a squad from earlier too. I thought you owned a PR firm.”

“Oh that.” Levi’s disembodied voice echoed off the tiles. “I quit PR three years ago. Now I’m a fireman.”

“You’re a fireman?!” Eren gasped.

Levi walked out in jeans and a fitted grey shirt. He smirked at the shocked expression on Eren’s face. “Yeah. Erwin’s the commissioner and asked me to join a while back and I thought, ‘ _what the hell?’_. I was getting bored with my old job.”

“That’s…bold.”

“Besides, the only thing I enjoyed during my 6 years of PR was a certain assistant with bright, heterochromatic eyes,” Levi continued, the smirk never leaving his face.

Eren’s face flushed bright red and he drew the comforter up to his nose, but he leveled a glare at Levi, who met his gaze, unabashed. Damn the bastard for still looking so good-better, if Eren was being honest-after all these years.

“Anyway, I need to get going,” Levi said, breaking the silence. “Erwin always gets massive hangovers and its fun to fuck around with him the morning after; don’t want to miss that.” He grinned at Eren. “Last night was fun.”

“Oh yeah,” Eren snapped, sarcasm oozing from his words like slime. “Real blast. Okay, _bye_.”

Before Eren could say anything else, Levi walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Alright, have a good day, _honey_.” Then he turned and descended the stairs from the loft, leaving a completely dumbfounded Eren in bed. Right before he walked out the door, he yelled, “Don’t forget to check out our wedding photo!”

When the sound of the door closing echoed through the apartment, the raven’s words seemed to hang in the air. Eren’s stomach churned –he wasn’t sure if it was from the situation or the hangover –and his head was spinning from all the information he’d just been presented with.

“Well…” Armin finally said, “You could do worse.”

“Armin!” Eren finally snapped out of his daze. “That is _not_ an appropriate response to this situation!”

“More importantly, we need to find that wedding photo.”

“Fucking hell.”

Armin hopped off the bed with too much enthusiasm and started rifling through the clothes on the floor. “I’ll bet it’s in your pant pocket somewhere.”

“Ugh, you keep looking if you want; I need coffee.” Eren got out from bed, legs wobbling like Bambi on ice. He was pleased to see he was still wearing boxers-at least they hadn’t had drunk sex too; although given the situation, Eren thought that he would have preferred a drunken one night stand to _this_.

As the Keurig warmed up, Eren buried his face into his arms, wondering what horrible, heinous thing he’d done in a past life to deserve this. Besides, what were the odds that he would run into Levi fucking Ackerman in Atlantic City after all these years?

He’d first met Levi almost 6 years ago when he’d just needed a summer job in college for some extra cash. Armin had been working at the firm for a few years through college and had mentioned that their hard-to-handle manager was looking for an assistant just for the summer, which worked with Eren’s schedule perfectly. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a nice, relaxed summer job became full-blown hell when Eren realized he’d bitten off more than he could chew with one Levi Ackerman.

Oh, don’t get him wrong; the man was excellent at his job, which meant he had the most clients. However, it also meant that Eren was running around the office like a headless chicken on speed. It didn’t help that Eren had found his boss to be extremely attractive at the time (despite their 8-year age gap and the fact that Levi was a bit of an asshole) and he was sure Levi had known about his crush because the raven spent every free minute sexually harassing the fuck out of the college boy.

Luckily, all the sexual tension came to an end when Levi abruptly moved to New York to expand his business, leaving his second-in-command, Hanji Zoe in charge of their Philadelphia branch. It was both relieving and horrible; although Eren wasn’t being teased mercilessly in the office, Hanji was not the most organized person, and often landed Eren (and other workers) in sticky situations.

When Eren quit at the end of the summer and Armin left the firm after graduating, he’d thought that would be the last he would see or hear of anyone from that company.

Apparently he was wrong.

As the earthy aroma of coffee wrapped around him, Eren felt his head clear up and the pounding in his temples slowly subside into a dull throb. So caught up in his caffeinated bliss, he’d almost forgotten that Armin was upstairs until he heard a whoop of laughter.

“What the hell, coconut head?” Eren called up.

“I found your wedding photo! It’s on your fucking keychain! Oh my god this is getting snapchatted right fucking now!”

“Don’t you dare!” Eren bolted up the stairs with speed he didn’t know he possessed and tackled Armin to the floor, knocking his cell phone out of his hand. He quickly deleted the snapchat and looked around for the offending keychain Armin had mentioned.

Again, under any other circumstance, the photo would’ve been hilarious. He and Levi were both wearing white tuxedos with sky blue vests, although his was half untucked and half unbuttoned. Eren was holding up what looked like a tequila shot in one hand, and had his other arm around Levi’s shoulders. A huge grin was plastered on his face as he smiled at the camera.

Levi had one arm wrapped possessively around Eren’s waist, and was wearing a satisfied smirk on his face as his gunmetal grey eyes peered up into the camera. His other hand held a similar tequila shot (which miraculously hadn’t spilled) as he gave the cameraman the middle finger.

In the background, Eren could barely make out Hanji, who was doubled over in laughter, double fisting shots, and a tall blonde (that must’ve been Erwin), who had his head thrown back as he downed a shot.

There was only two words to describe the photo: Shit show.

“I can’t believe they let us get married like this.” Eren groaned.

Armin, who was still laughing, managed to get himself together long enough to say, “You guys look happy though.”

“Armin, is this a joke to you? I am _legally married_. It’s only been two months since I broke up with Jean, and here I am, married to my old boss whom I haven’t seen in five years.”

Armin couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing again.

“Ugh, you’re such an ass.” Eren rolled the blonde out of the way, grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom shower.

To his annoyance, there were signs of Levi everywhere in the bathroom. Or, rather, the fact that the man had _cleaned_ his fucking bathroom and organized everything meant the lack of a mess was the sign that Levi had been using the fucking place. The man had even scrubbed the glass doors of his shower.

When Eren came out, Armin had finally calmed down and had put some eggs on the stove. “Because I’m such an awesome friend, I made enough food for you as well. I was going to ask if you wanted to get brunch and some bloodies, but after hearing about your last night’s escapades, I’m opting for the alcohol-free route.”

Eren’s stomach heaved a little bit at the mention of vodka, but agreed enthusiastically. He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and pulled out his laptop.

“You could help you know,” Armin called out.

“Hang on. I need to first look up how to get an annulment.”

“What?”

Eren rolled his eyes. “An an-nul-ment. This was obviously a huge mistake and needs to be rectified immediately. I can’t marry someone I just met; have you not seen Frozen? Queen Elsa’s words of wisdom must be taken seriously.”

“First of all, I can’t believe you’re using a Disney movie as an argument. Second, you didn’t just meet Levi; you’ve known him for six years. Third, if we’re being completely honest, don’t you think this is good for you?”

“Who are you and what have you done with Armin?” Eren stared at the blonde head that was turned away from him at the moment. “Good for me? _Good_ for me? Do you know how much crap that short asshole put me through when I was working with him? I only _just_ broke up a three year relationship and you think marrying a constipated leprechaun is _good for me_?”

Now it was Armin’s turn to roll his eyes as he shoveled the scrambled eggs onto plates along with toast and sausages. “You’re such a fucking drama queen, Eren.”

The brunette stuck his tongue out at his friend as he scrolled through the PA laws. “Whatever. The good news is that, given the circumstances, my situation falls under the void marriage so we just have to sign the papers within 60 days and it’ll likely be approved immediately.”

“Hm.” Armin set the plates down on the table and took a seat across from Eren. “You know, me and Hanji were always trying to hook the two of you up back when you were working at the firm.”

Eren nearly spat out his toast. “What?” He gasped out between coughs. “What are you—just, _what_?”

“Yeah, we were constantly playing pranks to put you two into compromising situations. Too bad you were so dense you never caught on, although Levi definitely did.”

Eren wasn’t sure how to process this information so he turned his attention back to his food and computer. “Oh look, I can order the forms via instant download for like twenty bucks.”

“You’re ignoring me, Eren.”

“Am I?”

Armin chuckled. “All this aside, what are you going to say to Mikasa?”

The color drained from Eren’s face. “Shit, Mikasa. What are the chances that I can get this annulled before she finds out about this?”

A loud knock sounded from the hallway. “EREN!” Mikasa’s voice echoed through the door.

“None, if her tone is any indication.” Armin laughed.

Eren sighed and went to open the front door and meet his fate.

* * *

 

Levi walked into the station twenty minutes late, coffee in one hand, a sandwich in the other.

“Levi, Levi! Quick, come here!”

He looked over to see Hanji waving excitedly, head stuck into Erwin’s office. “What does he look like this time?” He asked, casually taking a sip from his cup.

The brunette chuckled. “Like he was eaten by a 15 meter giant, stewed in digestive juices, then shat out in a pile.”

Levi snorted and stuck his head into the commissioner’s office.

Erwin was slumped over his desk, face unshaven, hair uncombed, eyes bloodshot and darkened. A pair of sunglasses sat crookedly on top of his head, and his jacket had clearly missed the peg, pooled on the floor next to the desk.

“Oi, shitwin. How are you feeling?” Levi taunted.

“Can you _please_ not yell at me? Why did I let you guys talk me into going to Atlantic City?” The blonde groaned into his arms. “Never again. Oh my god, never again.”

Hanji cackled from behind Levi. “Look at the poor guy. He’s like a giant baby right now; not capable of even wiping his own ass.” They blinked. “Wow, Levi. You’ve been rubbing off on me.”

They backed up out of the room and grinned. “By the way, how’s the missus? Was Eren as ecstatic as you were when he woke up?”

Clearly, Levi’s expression was answer enough because the grin fell from Hanji’s face. “Oh…what happened?” Their tone was subdued, concerned.

“The little shit didn’t remember anything from the night before, and right before I left, he asked me _why_ I said yes to marrying him,” Levi grumbled. “He seemed so coherent last night; it didn’t really occur to my drunken mind that he might not remember any of it.”

“Oh, Levi…” Hanji’s voice was sympathetic. “I’m sure he’ll calm down once he gets over his hangover.”

“You didn’t see his face,” Levi sighed. “He was utterly horrified. I’m not sure what he’s going to do later when everything sinks in.”

Hanji frowned. “You don’t think he’s going to do anything stupid, do you?”

“Stupid? Hanji, he married me while he was drunk! Stupid is his default setting!”

A groan cut through their conversation. “Can you two not have this conversation so close to me right now? It sounds like you’re shouting through a megaphone.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go make you some coffee,” Hanji said, closing the door behind them.

“Thank you.” Erwin croaked weakly before the door clicked shut.

As soon as they’d stepped away from Erwin’s office, Hanji turned on Levi again. “So, what are you going to do?”

“What are you talking about?” Levi frowned. “I’m obviously going to stay married to him. I didn’t wait five years just so I could lose the idiot again.”

Hanji squealed. “That’s so cute!”

“Hanji!” Erwin’s voice echoed through the door. “Your voice is approaching supersonic again! At least wait until you’ve gotten my coffee!”

The brunette was clearly unfazed as they purposely laughed at the top of their lungs, startling Oluo and Gunther. As the coffee machine warmed up, they turned to Levi again. “But seriously, that’s _so_ sweet. The boy has _no_ idea you’ve been pining for him for five years now, does he? I don’t think I’ve _ever_ met someone as dense as Eren Jäger.”

“No, the brat is so oblivious he probably wouldn’t realize my feelings if they put on neon dresses and tapped danced a musical number in his fucking living room.” Levi set down his coffee and ran his hand through his hair. “I just…remember when we fought our first fire after we joined the force? Everything just felt right, like I was finally doing what I was meant to be doing.”

Hanji nodded. “I felt the same way when Erwin and Mike asked us to join. I’m not sure why but it just felt like we belong on a team together. You know, saving people.”

“Well I’ve only had that feeling twice-first when I fought my first fire, and then again when I married Eren.”

“You’re secretly a tiny ball of sap beneath that constipated exterior, aren’t you?”

“Hah?!”

Hanji laughed and took Levi’s coffee to refill. “I’m just saying, you act all tough, but the way you pined for this boy is just adorable.”

“Tch.” Levi scowled. He munched on his sandwich as Hanji poured two more cups of coffee. They were right, to an extent. He had downright hated the brat when he’d first met him 6 years ago. The kid was too enthusiastic, too loud, too messy, too much; basically the opposite of who Levi was. Over time though, Levi found himself drawn to the boy with multi-colored eyes.

Eren Jäger was nothing, if not hard working, and there was nothing Levi respected more than integrity and work ethic (except for cleanliness of course). As the weeks went by, Eren quickly became the most capable assistant Levi had ever had, and the more the two spent time together, the more Levi found the boy tolerable-alright, more than tolerable if he was being honest.

Add Hanji’s antics to the mix, and Levi’s feelings went from a small crush to full blown lust for the boy. Clearly the brunette had no idea how he felt, nor was he aware that Hanji and his blonde friend were intentionally putting him in situations that resulted in the two of them spending more time together in close proximity.

Eventually, Levi couldn’t handle the tension and nearly leapt at the opportunity to open a second branch of their firm in New York City. At least that would give him some time away from Eren, and maybe if he spent enough time away, the feelings he had for the kid would just disappear.

Unfortunately, they didn’t, and when he was able to come back to Philadelphia, Eren had already quit and Armin had moved on to grad school, leaving him no way to contact the boy.

He had never expected to run into Eren Jäger in Atlantic City, and _definitely_ hadn’t expected the boy to drunkenly propose.

Of course, he knew they were both intoxicated, yet part of his brain-and let’s be honest, his heart-told him that if he didn’t say yes and keep Eren in his life, he was going to regret his choice and never see him again.

Even more unexpected, however, was the pure, unadulterated look of shock and horror on the brunette’s face that morning when he’d discovered their situation. Levi hadn’t realized how much he’d cared for the boy until that look sent his gut straight through the floor.

Levi sighed. What was done was done. They’d just have to make the best of the situation now. At the very least, he’d found and reconnected with the brat, right?

Erwin’s voice cut through his thought.

“Haaaan-jiiii!” The man whined. “Where is my coffee?!”

Levi sighed. Alright, one thing at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the plot has begun.Hope you guys enjoyed! I know Erwin is a little OOC, but I'm tired of him being portrayed as this god-like figure; he's only human! Plus I like him like this haha. 
> 
> Please comment; your responses give me life!!!
> 
> I also really want to draw their wedding picture sometime haha. But who has the time?
> 
> EDIT: For those of you who clicked on the ring links, I'd linked the wrong pic for Levi's ring but it's now fixed!
> 
>  **Preview for next chapter** :  
> Eren confronts Levi with annulment papers. Levi cooks them dinner and Eren is awkward.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **ATTENTION:  
>  So after some consideration, I’m making a quick change. Originally, I was going to have Eren and Jean be engaged prior to the drunken marriage, but after some consideration, I’m changing it to them being in a three year relationship. Mostly because I wanted there to be a damn good reason for Eren to end the relationship, and still make it plausible for the plot to move along with minimal moping. It’s already been changed in the previous chapters, sorry!**
> 
> ALSO, CAN I JUST HAVE A FREAK OUT MOMENT ABOUT THE SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 81?! THANKS, ISAYAMA, IT'S NOT LIKE I NEED A BEATING HEART TO SURVIVE ANYWAY.
> 
> Thank you for all your wonderful feedback!! And now, enjoy!

Eren hummed to the tune blaring from his headphones, smiling. He couldn’t wait to hop in the shower and wash off the layers of sweat Mikasa had drowned him in. His sister had stormed his house, worried as hell, with guns blazing that afternoon since he hadn’t returned any of her calls from the night before.

Luckily, he’d managed to hide the wedding band in time and hadn’t had to face the consequences of Mikasa finding out about his little mishap from last night. He’d reassured her he was fine, and, after she practically gave him a physical, she deemed him healthy and well and left it like that. He was hoping to keep it that way.

Before he’d headed to the gym for a few rounds with Mikasa, he’d managed to find and print all the papers he needed for the annulment. Now all he needed to do was go down to the fire station tomorrow before work, have Levi sign the papers, and this whole thing would just become a stupid, funny story.

Still humming, he unlocked his door—

And stopped in his tracks.

A delicious smell assaulted his nose as soon as he stepped into the foyer. He frowned. Was Armin over again? No, the blonde was having date night with Annie, he’d told Eren earlier. Maybe he’d left the oven on…with a chicken inside it?

No, the more reasonable conclusion was that someone was in his house. Someone was in his house…cooking.

Eren grabbed the umbrella from the closet door and, wielding the umbrella like a bat, walked past the first floor bathroom into the kitchen.

Levi was standing at the kitchen counter, back toward Eren, one of his hands flipping the contents in a sauté pan, the other one stirring a pot.

“What the hell are you doing?” Eren asked, frowning, leaning the umbrella against the wall.

Levi looked over his shoulder from the sizzling pan. “I’m making dinner, brat. I’d think that would be obvious to anyone with a brain.”

“That last bit was unnecessary; I’m technically a doctor by definition. But what I meant to ask is, how the hell did you get in?”

Levi flipped the contents of the pan and said, “You gave me the key last night, remember? Since we got married and all.”

“Right, about that.” Eren dropped his gym bag on the floor and walked away to grab the papers from the kitchen table. He leaned over the counter to hand the papers to Levi. “I need you to sign these.”

“What are those?” Levi took a sip from the boiling pot and returned to stirring with one hand and flipping with the other, eyes never leaving the stove.

Eren resigned to setting the papers down on the counter next to him. “Annulment papers. We need to get these signed and processed ASAP.”

Both of Levi’s hands stopped moving. “What? Annulment papers? Why?”

“Oh come on.” Eren laughed drily. “We both know what happened last night was a joke. I’m sure neither of us wants a divorce on our record, and I already looked up everything we need to do to get rid of all the evidence. All I need is your signature on these lines that I marked with ‘X’s and hopefully by Wednesday afternoon, we’ll be handed a clean slate and can both move on with our lives.”

Silver-blue eyes stared up into gold and emerald ones, unblinking and unwavering. Then Levi broke the eye contact and went back to stirring the pot. “No.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to sign, baby.”

“…Say what, baby?” Eren retorted, then blinked, taken aback by the pet name. “I hope you’re saying that no, neither of us want a divorce on our record, because I sure as hell hope you’re not saying no to signing these papers.”

The raven just turned away, pulling the sauté pan off the stove. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“No…” Eren laughed nervously. “No…you _need_ to sign these papers.”

“Why?”

“Because…” Eren’s brain struggled to find the words. “If you don’t…we would stay married…”

“Yep.” Levi turned back to face him, holding two plates. “Chicken?”

“What?”

“I made chicken.” The raven held up the two plates of food piled with chicken and vegetables. “It’s great for after a workout, too.”

“I’m not hungry.” Eren’s stomach immediately betrayed him with a loud growl that sounded like the Cerberus dog from hell. He felt heat rush to his face as Levi tried to hide a smile. Unable to meet the shorter man’s gaze any longer, he turned and headed upstairs. “I uh…I need to shower.”

“Oh? We could shower together you know.”

Eren tripped up the stairs, crashed sideways into the wall with a _BANG_ , and whacked his nose on the top step. “OW, FUCK!”

A loud, rambunctious sound exploded from downstairs. It took Eren a few seconds to realize the sound was Levi laughing. He blinked, stunned. He’d never heard such a hearty, boisterous noise come out of the smaller man. In fact, he hadn’t known Levi could make any sound other than ‘ _Tch._ ’

Against his better judgment, he peeked his head around the railing into the kitchen.

Levi was leaning with his back against the counter, the plates of food hastily set down beside him, doubled over in laughter. His eyes were squeezed shut, the edges crinkled in mirth, his broad shoulders shaking, and his hair fell messily to the side as he tried to cover his mouth with one hand.

It was adorable.

Wait, what?

Eren jerked back over the railing. Wait a second. He did _not_ just think Levi Ackerman was adorable. Besides, he was positive the older man would skewer him on a metal firepole if he ever found out that Eren had just referred to him as _cute_. Ugh.

Again, against his better judgment, he peeked over the railing after a few minutes of silence to peer into the kitchen—

And once again met a pair of steel blue-grey eyes. Levi was now leaning against his forearms on the kitchen counter, eating from his plate. As soon as Eren peeked over the railing, he’d looked up and locked eyes with the boy, smirking.

Eren let out a squeak and barely managed to not fall down the stairs as he pulled back so fast he hit his head on the opposite wall again. He quickly grabbed his gym bag and ran the rest of the way up and into his bathroom.

God damn that son of a bitch fireman!

* * *

 

“When are you leaving?”

Eren stood before Levi, who’d made himself comfortable on the couch and was currently browsing through his Netflix account. He’d expected the man to have finished dinner and be gone by the time he finished showering. Unfortunately the raven had other plans, and Eren had nearly dropped his towel (nearly flashing Levi in the process) in surprise when he’d found Levi sitting on the couch. Some time during the shower, the man had changed into casual jeans and had helped himself to one of Eren’s oversized sweaters, which was practically drowning him.

Levi raised an eyebrow. “Why? Don’t newlyweds usually live together?”

“No, no, don’t go there. This is not a marriage! This is…this is…insane! This is practically a joke!” Eren grabbed the annulment papers from the kitchen counter, where they’d been sitting since he’d first shown them to Levi, and marched back into the living room. “Now, sign on the line please. Please make ‘you’ go away.”

“I can’t, Eren.” His voice had lost its teasing tone and there was a look in Levi’s eyes that Eren couldn’t read as he looked up at the younger boy.

Eren threw the paper onto the coffee table in front of the man, feeling his anger bubble in his gut as his frustration grew. “Fine. If you’re not going to sign the papers, then just leave.”

“Can’t do that either.”

“Uh, yeah, you can. You know how you waltzed into my loft? _REVERSE IT_.”

Levi surged off the couch and walked over to Eren. Eren backed away, suddenly wishing he hadn’t thrown down the papers so he could have _some_ sort of barrier between the two of them.

“Look here, brat.” Levi jabbed a finger at Eren’s chest. “I don’t know how I could make this clearer. I have no intention of ending this marriage.” He had backed Eren up against the wall at this point. Despite the other man’s short stature, Eren felt like _he_ was the one being dwarfed. “Even if _you_ think this is a joke, it sure fucking isn’t one for me. I’ve been waiting too long for this, and I sure as hell have no intention of letting go.”

They stared at each other for a few moments, Eren’s green and gold eyes wide, Levi’s blazing yet unreadable.

Finally the raven gave a huff and backed away, turning away from Eren, and ran a hand violently through his hair.

Eren couldn’t move. What did Levi mean? He’d been waiting too long for what? Did he have his eye on the loft or something? The landlord _had_ mentioned that there hadn’t been new leases available for a few years now…

“Look, we’ve both had a long day, and maybe this isn’t the best time to have this discussion.” Levi’s voice broke his train of thought, startling him.

It took Eren a few seconds to find his voice. “Yeah. I’m exhausted.” He hiked the towel around his hips up. “I just want to go to bed; we can deal with this first thing tomorrow, ok?”

Levi still hadn’t turned around to look at him and didn’t respond. Eren shifted uncomfortably, wishing for something to fill the agonizing silence. It would’ve been nice if he could see the other man’s face so he could get even a _hint_ of what the guy was thinking.

Finally, the raven turned around with a curt nod, his signature scowl plastered on his face again. “Sounds good.”

Eren let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Alright.” He walked down the hall and opened his front door to show Levi out—

Only to turn around and see the man walk up the stairs into his loft. “What are you doing?!”

Levi stuck his head over the railing. “Going to bed, like you suggested. Get the lights on your way up, alright?”

Before Eren could answer, he’d disappeared up the stairs.

The brunette stood at the open door, dumbfounded for the umpteenth time that day. What the hell just happened? Levi wasn’t seriously planning on spending the night, was he?

He continued to stand at the door, as if Levi would suddenly dance down the stairs and yell ‘ _psych!_ ’, until one of his neighbors walked out of the elevator with her two year old son and promptly started to shriek at him for being a pervert for standing at the entrance half-naked.

Eren hastily shut the front door and walked up to his bedroom. Levi had stripped down to his boxers and was in the process of climbing into bed. His muscles rippled with every little movement, defined from working out and recent years of rigorous training. Eren's eyes traveled over the well muscled back (then man must've been like 5% body fat) and those toned, muscled arms that were so defined he could see the cephalic vein popping next to the biceps.

Just before he threw the covers over his naked torso, Levi noticed Eren standing at the top of the stairs, staring. The raven smirked (damn it, no one should be able to look that evil and sexy at the same time!) and Eren came to his senses, grabbed his pajamas from the floor and bolted downstairs, trying not to blush. There was no way was he would get any sleep that night if he were in the same bed as that ~~chiseled god~~ cocky bastard.

Ugh. That son of a bitch fireman.

* * *

 

Eren woke to a heavenly smell.

He grabbed his cell phone from under his pillow and glanced at the time -6:30 AM -and groaned. He didn't have to be in at the clinic until noon today, why was he awake so early? The sound of sizzling oil and smell of cooking meat (sausages, his still hazy mind informed him) filled his nose and he stretched and rolled over in bed--

And fell on the floor with a loud _THUD_.

"Ow…"

Why was he on the couch?

"Morning, sunshine."

Oh, right.

Eren got to his feet, movements sluggish. He didn't even have the energy to shoot a glare in Levi's direction as he trudged wordlessly into the kitchen. When Levi opened his mouth to say something, Eren held up a finger and shook his head. The raven seemed to understand, because he closed his mouth and allowed Eren access to the Keurig machine.

When the machine finally finished making the first cup of coffee, Eren wrapped his hands around the steaming mug and inhaled. Instantly, he became more awake as the scent of espresso filled his nose. He put a second cup under the Keurig and turned to Levi. "Coffee?"

"Sure." Levi looked surprised at the offer (Eren was a little offended; he would never deny someone caffeine, even if he wasn't particularly pleased with the person at the time), but nodded and turned his attention back to the food cooking on the stove. The man was wearing a new pair of jeans -Eren wondered when he'd brought a new pair over -and had donned another one of Eren's shirts, this time opting for a tank that read ' _It's not swagger, I'm just sore_ ' on the front.

If Eren were a bit more awake, he might have ogled Levi’s arms (which were defined even without having to flex them), but his decaffeinated brain couldn’t process anything except the steps to make coffee at the moment.

As Eren started the second cup of coffee, he asked, "Are you always up this early?"

Levi shrugged. "Give or take. I’m a light sleeper as it is, and we always have to be on alert at the station." He speared the sausage in the pain with a fork and turned it over. "How about you? What do you do for a job?"

"I'm a physical therapist in a clinic downtown. Monday and Wednesday's are my late days." He started gulping down his coffee like it was the antidote to poison.

"Huh. I didn't know you were a physical therapist. It suits you."

"Right." Eren set down his already empty coffee mug. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me, which is more of the reason you need to sign these papers." He walked over to the living room to grab the annulment papers. "Remember? Annulment papers. Sign."

"Eren, do you really want to start this argument this early?"

"There _is_ no argument! We got drunk, we made bad decisions, and now we need to reverse the bad decisions before they cause any more damage." Eren waved the papers in Levi's face. "So sign."

"Just, hang on there, Eren. You really want this marriage to end? You haven't even experienced my special breakfast sausage yet." Levi forked the meat out of the pan, completely ignoring the papers, and held the juicy, evenly cooked sausage up to Eren.

"No, get your dripping sausage out of my face."

"Only if you put my dripping sausage in your mouth."

"Is that supposed to be a penis joke?"

"Oh come on, I'm trying to make things fun."

"Oh, you want to make things fun? You know what would be fun? _If you signed the annulment papers_!"

Levi sighed. "Eren, sit down."

"Only if you sign these papers."

"Oh my god, you're fucking stubborn. Now _sit your ass DOWN_."

Eren sat.

"Good." Levi huffed, finished forking the food into plates and set them down on the kitchen table before the brunette. "Now listen here, you little shit. I’m going to explain this once. When I quit the firm three years ago, I was at the pinnacle of my career. Yet I felt nothing and I had no regrets when I decided to quit to try my hand at something else. When I joined the fire department, for the first time in my life, I felt like I'd come home to where I belonged. Since then, I've only ever experienced that feeling _one_ other time: when I saw you again two nights ago."

He paused to make sure Eren was actually listening, then continued.

"Haven't you ever done something without thinking because you just knew in your gut that it was right?"

It took Eren a second to realize Levi actually expected him to respond. He nodded. Sure, half of what he did was impulsive and on gut feeling; he was Eren fucking Jäger for Christ’s sake.

"Well that night my gut was screaming, 'don't let him go.'"

Eren sighed. "That's nice, but mine is screaming, ' _Let me go!_ '"

"Eren, I wouldn't have married you if I wasn't sure that you were the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"How can you be sure? You don't know the first thing about me! This is not how people do this! People don't just get married after one night of boozing! People…you know, they meet, they date, they woo and shit before they get married!"

"Well that can be arranged. What are you doing after work? We can go on a date. Want to go woo?"

Eren stared. Clearly the past five years had changed Levi Ackerman from a fully functioning, capable business professional to a crazy, deluded psycho. "No. For the last time, what I want is for you to sign the annulment papers."

"And for the last time, I can't do that."

The two men sat in silence, both trying to out-stare the other one. The food was left on the table, forgotten. Eren was at a loss. He couldn’t fathom why the bastard didn’t just sign the goddamn papers. What could he possibly gain from a marriage like this? Was it Levi's life goal to make Eren's life a living hell?

He sighed. Son of a bitch fireman was never going to leave.

Finally, Levi gave a little ‘ _Tch_ ’ and broke eye contact, chewing his bottom lip in frustration. Eren had to resist giving a little fist pump; finally his own stubbornness was paying off.

“It doesn’t fucking matter, I’m not signing those fucking papers,” Levi snapped, violently stabbing his breakfast before stuffing the fork in his mouth.

Eren frowned. “You do realize that if you don’t come to your senses soon and sign these papers, it’ll take at least 5 months to end this marriage? And that’s for mutual consent cases, which clearly isn’t the case with you right now. Pennsylvania requires at least a 90-day cool off before they even allow a divorce case into court! At least with the current circumstances, we can just get an annulment within 60 days.”

Levi sighed. “Fine, give me 60 days then.”

“What?” Eren blinked.

“Tell you what. In 60 days, if you don’t love me…I will leave.”

“Seriously?”

“Give me 60 days, Eren.” Levi leaned forward and gently covered Eren’s hand on the table. Eren resisted the urge to wrench his hand away. “Give this marriage 60 days, and if by the end of it, you still want to end it, I will walk away and never bother you again. I promise.”

Eren was silent as he contemplated the proposal. He wasn’t thrilled about the idea of living with Levi for 2 months. However, the raven had proven to be unmovable about the entire situation and this was likely Eren’s only way out. Besides, these conditions meant that after the annulment, Levi would never show up in his life again. He just needed to hold out for 60 more days.

Finally, Eren sighed. “Alright. 60 days. Then this so-called marriage ends, and you never contact me again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry this chapter was a little slow moving; I just feel like it's unreasonable for them to start just like getting it on after what happened, so it's probably going to be a moderate pace build. Let's be honest: Eren can be stubborn but he's not a fucking saint haha. 
> 
>  
> 
>  **Preview for next chapter** : Hanji and Armin are reunited, Levi attempts to woo, and Armin is hella sassy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for being absent for a while; I had surgery last week and haven’t really had time to write too much, and I’ve been traveling across the country. 
> 
> Also, I want to say a HUGE Thank You! for the response to Just Go With It. I never imagined a one shot of mine would receive so many kudos or reads and I really appreciate all of you for taking the time to read and respond to everything!
> 
> Here’s an extra long chapter!

The clinic was quiet that Monday; two therapists were off on vacation, and the back staff office was blissfully silent as Eren walked in with his dinner. He had a ton of paperwork to catch up on and his last patient had been particularly slow, cutting into a chunk of his break time.

"So I hear you got hitched." A voice sounded from the corner. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

Eren nearly dropped his steak salad (that Levi had made for him) on the office floor. "Annie! Be quiet!"

The short, blonde woman gave a small smirk, her usually stoic face relaxed in amusement. "Oh please, who are you afraid will hear you? Mikasa? Speaking of Mikasa, how did she take the news? Was she pissed she didn't get to walk her precious brother down the aisle?"

"Ugh, no." Eren set down his meal, rubbing his face tiredly. "She doesn't know yet, thank god. I was able to hide the ring before she saw it; she was just worried that I didn't pick up her calls that night. And don't you dare tell her about this. Knowing her, she would storm my house to kill the guy. And knowing Levi, he'd fight back tooth and nail and when the fight is over, I'm going to be the one without a home to return to."

Annie gave a quiet snort. "Well how are you going to keep this from her? You're staying married, right?"

"I'm not _staying_ married." Eren stabbed at his food, scowling ferociously. "The bastard won't leave my house! We finally reached a compromise that if I gave this joke of a marriage 60 days, he'd leave and never come back."

"You don't actually believe that, do you?"

"Huh?"

Annie rolled her pale blue eyes. "You're so dense, Eren. People only refuse to get a divorce for three reasons: one, money is involved, which is clearly not the case in your situation. Two, there are children involved, which, again, is not the case unless you guys drunkenly adopted a child too. And last but not least, three, they're still in love with each other and refuse to let go."

"Hilarious," Eren said sarcastically. "As if Levi fucking Ackerman could be in love with me."

"Hey, I haven't met the guy so I wouldn't know. But Armin's handled enough divorce cases through his internships that even I could pick up the patterns. Thank god he's in corporate law now; those divorce cases were just messy."

"Oh yeah." Eren blinked. "That asshole didn't give me any advice on getting an annulment when I brought this up to him! You would think he would at least give me a referral to a good lawyer."

“You think a good lawyer would make this better? I’m sure there are other ways to get him to leave.”

“I’ve tried everything! I begged! I reasoned with him!” Eren threw his hands up dramatically. “I even called the police on him after I got to work, but they all knew him and they all fucking congratulated me!”

The blonde just smirked and just shrugged at him, taking a long, deep sip from her smoothie.

Eren rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his paperwork. Maybe he should ask Armin or Reiner or someone to stay over for a few days just to avoid the shorter man. Levi seriously needed to learn some boundaries. The raven had already decided he was living in Eren's loft for the next 60 days, and had helped himself to anything and everything in the place. Granted, the main thing he'd helped himself to was the food, and Eren was already used to people coming over to raid his fridge (his policy was as long as they cooked for him, they were welcome to his food), but the man had made himself too comfortable too quickly for Eren's liking.

It didn't help that he was constantly wearing Eren's shirts and the size difference really made him look ~~sexy~~ less threatening than he was.

Eren took a bite of his steak salad and nearly moaned. Damn it, even Levi's steak was lean and delicious.

He blinked. What was _wrong_ with him?

A ding from behind him indicated an incoming text, and Annie suddenly let out an uncharacteristic snort.

"What?" Eren ask cautiously. Whenever Annie laughed, a puppy died.

"Armin just texted me." Annie swiveled around in her chair. "He's having tea at your house with your new husband and someone named Hanji."

Eren spat out a mouthful of salad, nearly hitting his laptop. "Fuck, what?! Why are they over right now?"

"Apparently Armin went over to grab some ingredients for dinner—"

"That asshole; he's a fucking lawyer, he can pay for his own ingredients!"

"—and your husband was there and invited him in for tea. Armin mentioned that he hadn't seen this Hanji person for a while so your husband invited them over. They're having a tea party now." Annie looked up at Eren. "I guess that means I'm coming to your place after work then."

Eren groaned. Great. Fucking Levi was hosting fucking tea parties at his loft now. Awesome.

“Wait a second,” he suddenly blinked, realizing what Annie had said. “Why is he the husband? Why are you immediately assuming I’m the wife?”

Annie stared at him. “Eren, _come on_. I don’t even know this guy and I know you’d be the wife.”

“Hey! He’s a foot shorter than me!”

“So? I’m shorter than Armin and guess who wears the pants in that relationship?”

Eren winced. She had a point there. Not really sure what to say, he turned back to his desk to (finally) finish his paperwork.

"Hey Eren,” the PT aide stuck his head into the office. “Your next patient is in. Do you want me to get him started?"

Eren groaned again and threw his fork down. Only two more hours to go.

* * *

Armin took a sip of his green tea, eyes locked with the man sitting on the other side of the kitchen table. He'd gone over to Eren's place to grab some zucchini (Eren was obsessed with zucchini for some reason and always had several on hand), when he was greeted at the door by none other than Levi Ackerman. The man had invited him in for some tea, not even questioning why the blonde had been trying to get into Eren’s house uninvited, and Armin had obliged.

It didn't take long for Armin to get a firm grasp on the entire situation.

"So you're going to be living with Eren for 60 days then?"

Levi sighed. "That's what I just fucking told you, isn't it?"

"Whoa, no need to get short with me. I'm just clarifying. You know, if you conveniently forget when the 60 days are up, he would have no choice but to file for a divorce, which means you then have to stay together through the cool down period before the case hits the court." Armin mused.

"Why are you helping me?" Levi frowned. "Shouldn't you be on the brat's side?"

Armin looked amused. "Levi, tell me. Why are you refusing to get the annulment?"

"I also just told you that. I'm not going to lose the fucking brat again. I've been waiting five years to find him, and I'll be damned if I just give up and walk away from this."

"Oh my god, you're totally in love with him, aren't you?"

"Do me a favor and tell that to him, will you?"

“Hey.” Armin’s tone changed suddenly. “What exactly made you fall in love with Eren? I mean like I said, you’re so obviously in love, and I think you’d be good for him right now. But you haven’t seen him in years, and you’re clearly an attractive, desirable guy. Sorry if it seems a little far fetched that you’ve just been like holding this in for years.”

Levi scowled. “What are we at, a slumber party? Should I also comb and braid your hair as we talk about our feelings?”

“I’m serious, Levi.”

The raven sighed. “Call it intuition I guess. How is someone who’s crap with shit like this supposed to explain something _they_ don’t even understand? All I know is, being with Eren just feels right, even if we’re fighting, and it’s something I won’t give up on.”

"Oh, this is too good." Armin was back to being gleeful and was practically cackling. "You're absolute shit with romance, and Eren is so dense he probably doesn't even see it. In fact, I bet he's the only person in the world right now who doesn't know you're completely smitten with him."

"Tch." Levi rolled his eyes. "I just didn't expect him to be so desperate to end this thing."

Armin immediately sobered up. "Ah, well that's because of Jean."

"Who?"

"Remember you mentioned that Eren had drunkenly told you about someone called horseface? That’s Jean’s nickname. Eren just ended their three–year relationship a little over 2 months ago, and considering how it ended, it’s not surprising he wants to annul this marriage so badly. Don’t take it too personally."

Well, fuck. Levi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Now he felt even worse for keeping Eren tied down to him. “What happened with them?”

“That’s not for me to tell.” There was something unreadable, hard in Armin’s tone. “You should really hear that from Eren.”

“Shit.” It was that bad? Levi leaned back in his chair, letting his head hang back. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened between the two men to cause Armin to take on _that_ tone of voice.

Before he could say anything else, Armin asked, “By the way, are you still in contact with Hanji?”

“Yeah, they work at my station, remember? Why?”

“Oh I’d love to see them again. The two of us seriously bonded over trying to hook you and Eren up when he was working at your firm, and I was always a little bummed I never reached out to them after I quit.”

Levi pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call them over now.”

When Hanji realized they were being invited over to _Eren’s_ house, it didn’t even take them twenty minutes to zoom from the station to Riverlofts Apartments. Levi was impressed in spite of himself; it was rush hour traffic and the station was a solid twenty-minute drive in good conditions.

 “ _ARRRRRMIIIIIIINN_!”

Hanji flew past Levi when he opened the door and tackled the tall blonde into the wall with a loud thud. “Oh my god, look how tall you’ve gotten since I last saw you! You grew your hair out! You look so handsome; Eren wasn’t the only one who got hotter over the years! Oh my god, how have you been?”

Armin let them word vomit as he laughed, patting the now shorter brunette awkwardly on the head. “Hello, Hanji. Long time.”

When Hanji finally released him, eyes shining with excitement behind their square-rimmed glasses, Armin grinned down at them. “I take it you’re doing well?”

“I am now! Ah, I was so excited when Levi called me –the shithead _never_ calls me –and I’ve been _dying_ to see you and Eren again ever since that crazy night!" They looked around the loft, eyes darting from wall to wall, taking everything in. "So this is where little Eren Jäger lives, eh? Not a bad place! Look at that view!"

The looming, 13-foot tall window in the living room was overlooking the river toward Upenn, which was starting to light up under the dimming sky. The river was glowing blue and orange with reflected light, running peacefully under the Walnut Street bridge.

"Where is Eren anyway? It's almost 6." Hanji turned from the window.

"He works till 8 on Mondays and Wednesdays." Armin said. "The clinic isn't super far from here though, so he should be back in a couple of hours."

Hanji grinned. "You certainly know Eren's schedule well, Armin."

Armin snorted. "Yeah, well he and my fiancé work the same hours at the same clinic, so I got his schedule down pat. Also, it gives me a better idea of when I can sneak over and steal his food. If there's one thing Eren doesn’t cheap out on, it's good quality food and ingredients, even if he can't cook for shit."

"Oh? You're engaged?"

Armin beamed, eyes shining. "Yep. Her name's Annie; Eren introduced us when he met her in PT school. She's such a badass; could even give Mikasa a run for her money at the gym." He turned to Levi. "You'd really like her. She's really quiet and stoic for the most part, except when she's around me or Eren, and she's even shorter than you!"

Levi's eye twitched as Hanji burst out laughing. "Five years have made you confident, Arlert."

"Oh, you have no idea," Armin smirked, typing a message on his cell phone. "Anyway—" He turned toward Hanji. "—it looks like it's up to us again to get these two idiots into a happy relationship."

"Tch. You two did a shit job of it last time you tried," Levi scowled.

"Hey, we did an awesome job," Hanji laughed. "It's too bad your little love bug is an oblivious idiot."

Levi couldn't argue with that.

Just then, Armin's phone rang with an incoming text. An evil smirk rivaling Erwin's appeared on his face. "Looks like you'll get to meet Annie tonight; she's coming over with a very disgruntled Eren."

"Christ," Levi groaned. "Did you have to get him all riled up? He's already pretty pissed. As much fun as it is to screw with him, I want to do this right. I don't know what this Jean did to him, but I want to make him happy again."

Hanji squealed. “Oh, I love it when you get all cute and sappy!”

“Call me cute again and I’ll stab you through your shitty glasses.” Levi rubbed his temples, ears ringing from the squealing. He was starting to regret inviting Hanji over, although he knew they were much better at breaking up tension than he was; he had been hoping that it would work in his favor after Eren came back.

Hanji and Armin were back to talking animatedly, no doubt concocting some diabolical plan to embarrass him in front of Eren. He sat down at the table with the other two, fingering the rim of his teacup. While he appreciated the enthusiastic support of Eren’s best friend regarding this who debacle, he was less than thrilled about the fact that they thought _they_ were going to have to do all the legwork. He was Levi fucking Ackerman for crying out loud; he didn’t need Hanji or Armin’s help to get what he wanted.

Sure, Eren was stubborn, and that might prove to be an even bigger obstacle than his thick-headedness, but even Levi could tell that the boy was attracted to him physically. He hadn’t missed the way the boy’s gaze had scrutinized him last night as he was getting into bed. Now he just needed to figure out how exactly he could show the boy that he would treat him better than that jackass Jean.

Ugh, things would be so much easier if the brat just liked him.

He wasn't even sure when exactly his feelings toward the brunette had become so strong. He certainly didn’t believe in love at first sight, and his first feeling toward Eren couldn't be described as anything other than loathing.

Maybe it was the moment when Levi realized that Eren bought two coffees every morning on his way in to work-one for himself and one for the homeless guy who liked to hang out at the bus stop by the firm. Maybe it was that fiery look of determination that blazed in his eyes whenever he pursued a goal, a gaze so sharp and animalistic that it sent cold shivers down Levi's spine. Maybe it was the selfless way Eren threw himself into things to help a friend or even a stranger to do what he believed was the right thing. Maybe it was the way his eyes lit up when he'd talked about something he was passionate about, his golden eye swimming between honey and amber, his other eye softening to a grassy jade hue…

“…you’re thinking about Eren, aren’t you?”

Levi blinked. “Hah?”

Armin chortled. “You’re like Annie. You’re usually stone faced and angry looking, but the minute you start thinking about Eren you get this look in your eyes and your face relaxes. Seriously, we’ve been talking for nearly two hours and you’ve just been staring at your cup with that look on your face. It really is a miracle Eren hasn’t noticed.”

“Tch.” Levi rubbed his face as if the action would erase the look of adoration he’d apparently been wearing.

“Have you thought about just telling him how you feel?”

“Armin, I’m a fireman, not a fucking hippie. Besides, Eren wouldn’t believe me even if I screamed it from the top of the building.” He took a sip from his cup and nearly spat the cold tea out; he’d forgotten that it had been sitting there for hours.

Armin opened his mouth to say something when the front door swung open with a bang.

"Armin, you asshole!" Eren's voice bounced off the hallway into the living room. "You better have cooked me a second dinner for raiding my fridge _again_." He walked into the room, a short, petite blonde with piercing blue eyes and an even sharper nose trailing behind him.

"Hello to you too," Armin laughed, earning himself a light smack on the head from Eren. He got up from the chair and gave the short blonde girl a kiss on the cheek. The girl retaliated with an elbow to his gut, and Armin doubled over with a grunt. "Hey guys, this is Annie, my fiancé."

Hanji shook Annie's hand enthusiastically and Levi simply leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

"Aren't you going to say hi?" Eren leaned on the back of the adjacent chair and raised an eyebrow. "It's only polite you know."

His voice was monotonous, tired. It was hard to tell if he was still resigned with the events from this morning. Levi glanced over. Eren had turned his gaze back to his friends, who were currently bickering over a banana. His eyes had softened from their usual fiery blend of emerald and gold to a dreamy, luscious jade and amber and his lips had curved into a small, content smile.

Mmm, the things Levi wanted to do with those lips…

"Well?"

Levi blinked, torn from a fantasy that hadn't even begun to take shape. "What?"

"Don't be an asshole." Eren's tone was hard now. "Go say hi to Annie."

"Fuck, I wasn't trying to be an asshole, I was just thinking. Jesus Eren, you don't have to be so pushy."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eren retorted, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. "I'm sorry I was _pushy_. I'm sorry I'm forcing myself into someone else's life when they want to be left alone--oh wait, that's you."

Levi bit back a snarky retort and squeezed his eyes shut, counting silently back from 10. He had to remind himself that Eren was right; that Eren had every right to be mad at him right now. After all, he was the one forcing the boy into a marriage he didn't want and he was the one pushing his own feelings onto the unsuspecting, oblivious man.

When he finally hit 0, he turned to Annie and growled, "Hi blondie, nice to meet you."

Annie's eyes slid over to him, sharp and scrutinizing. Her gaze traveled from his face to his torso (he was still wearing Eren's tank from that morning), down his short frame, and then back up to his face. Her face was impassive, hard, and all around unpleasant at that moment.

After a few minutes of silence, she turned to Armin and said, "Seriously?"

Even without context, Levi had a good idea what she meant. He heard Eren snort from behind him and leveled a glare backwards at the brunette. Eren ignored him and started toward the kitchen.

"So!" Hanji's voice cut through the awkward silence. Given recent events, Levi had forgotten they were there. "This is one hell of a reunion, eh? Armin, you rascal, you sure know how to pick them!" They gestured at Annie wildly, nearly hitting Eren who was walking past them. "How do you guys know each other?" They were clearly grasping at strings at this point.

"Eren and I spent hours and hours feeling each other up. Then after we were done, he introduced me to Armin." Annie deadpanned.

Levi felt his dislike for the woman grow exponentially.

For the first time ever, Hanji had no words. They blinked slowly, eyes wide behind their rectangular-framed glasses. "Um…oh. Eren, I didn't know you were bi." Hanji eyed Annie and suddenly grinned. "So, you like them short, do ya?"

Even though Levi couldn't see Eren, he could tell he was rolling his eyes. "Christ, Hanji. Still the same crazy person, I see. And Annie is just trying to be funny, which, let's be honest, is as natural as a vampire." He pulled a zucchini out of the fridge and handed it to Armin. "Armin, make me food."

He turned to Hanji and continued. "Annie and I went to PT school together; everyone in PT school spends most of their time naked with each other in order to feel muscles and stuff. We had a class one semester literally dedicated to feeling each other up. It's not my fault Annie and I were paired for the class practicals."

"Oh yeah, real joy. You were so self conscious you had to flex your muscles every time I palpated you." Annie rolled her eyes. "Who the hell were you trying to impress?"

She ducked to avoid the second zucchini Eren threw at her head.

"Oh please." Eren scoffed and handed Armin a sauté pan. The tall blonde finally gave in and started up the stove. "You're the one who was doing push ups before every palpation lab, and don't even deny that you were feeling me up during out glute and hip labs."

"You _do_ have a nice ass," Annie smirked. "Everyone was just itching for a touch of that Jäger booty."

“ANYWAY,” Armin said loudly. “Hanji, Levi, have you guys eaten yet? Do you guys want some food? Since I’m being forced to make zucchini anyway.”

Hanji stretched and gave the group a grin. “Nah, I should be heading out; thanks for having me over, Eren. Oh, if you’re as big of a disaster with cooking as Armin says, you should have Levi teach you a thing or two. He may not look it, but he is quite a chef.”

“Mm, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Eren said with a forced smile. “It was nice seeing you, Hanji.”

The brunette was unphased. “Ditto, let’s keep in touch, yeah?”

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you now that our two favorite people are married,” Armin cut in, walking over while holding a sizzling pan of zucchini. “We’ll see each other soon, I’m sure.”

Hanji smiled, gave them a wave, and left with that.

Armin turned to face Eren, propping the hand that wasn’t holding the pan on his hip. “You’re being a bitch, Eren.”

“Gee thanks, love you too.” Eren rolled his eyes and held out a plate for him to dump the food onto. “Have you all eaten then?”

“No, we were waiting for you two,” Armin lied. “But if it’s cool with you two, Annie and I were talking about grabbing some late night Chinese food, so we may be heading out soon too.”

Eren sighed. He hadn’t said more than three words to Levi this morning after they struck the deal, and he was far too tired to be dealing with the raven’s advances tonight. However, he felt bad keeping Armin and Annie just to use them as a buffer.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Levi’s voice reached Eren’s ears. Eren glanced over and saw him in a fierce glaring contest with Annie. “It was good seeing you again, Armin. _Real_ pleasure meeting you too, Annie.”

The shorter blonde met his stare head on, her face impassive as ever. Finally, she turned and walked to Eren. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at work, Eren.” She gave him a rare hug, squeezing his waist tightly.

Eren, taken aback, gave her a return squeeze, smiling sheepishly at Armin, who rolled his eyes as he threw the sauté pan into the sink. Hugs from Annie were rare, like finding two prizes in a cereal box.

Suddenly a pair of strong hands wrapped around his arms and wrenched him away from Annie.

“What the hell—?!”

Eren shut his mouth as he came face to face with a livid Levi. The shorter man was practically radiating fury, his grip on Eren painfully tight, as he stared down Annie. The girl simply held her hands up, a smirk on her face.

Eren frowned. Why was Levi being a bitch? What the hell was going on?

“Enough,” Levi practically snarled. “I get it, and I think Armin is ready to—”

What Armin was ready to do, Eren would never find out. At that moment, the front door clicked open and a familiar female voice drifted down the hall.

“Eren! You left your wraps at the gym yesterday. Are Armin and Annie over right now?”

Eren’s stomach dropped straight through the floor and he grabbed Levi, pulling him into the kitchen. “Quick! Hide!” He threw the kitchen sink cupboard open and tried to shove Levi inside. “HIDE!”

“Fuck you, what the hell?!” Levi pushed back at the taller man as Eren literally forced his head under the sink. He hooked his foot behind Eren’s calf and pulled as he twisted, sending the brunette sprawling onto the kitchen floor, yanking Levi down in the process.

“Also, if Armin is here does that mean he made zuchin—what the _hell_ is this?”

Levi looked up to see a girl with sleek, shoulder length black hair and a red scarf standing at the hallway.

“Who that _fuck_ are you?”

Her voice had gone from a lighthearted and tender greeting to a low, warning growl. Her large grey eyes had narrowed into slits, brows knitted so tightly together Levi thought the wrinkles were going to be permanent.

Great. Yet another female in Eren’s life who was going to give him trouble.

Eren was wracking his brains, trying to find some way, _ANY_ way for this to end without bloodshed, when Levi responded in the worst way possible.

“I’m Levi, Eren’s husband. Who the fuck are _you_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa is here! Also, jealous Levi is the best. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and sticking with me-new readers, welcome and hope you enjoyed their story so far. Any and all comments and thoughts are welcome :)
> 
>  **Preview for Next Chapter:** The Ackermans face off. Eren is forced to face some feelings.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m not dead; here’s the update haha. 
> 
> Some Levi x Eren moments coming at you!
> 
> Please read the endnotes. I have a few really important things to say…

Every 5 seconds, 11 people die in this world.

Eren couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t one of the lucky 11 people, given his current situation. The tension in the room was suffocating (never mind the fact that he had a 150 pound man on top of him), and all Eren could do was hope that he would suddenly be hit with a spontaneous heart attack, which didn’t seem all that far fetched at the moment.

“You’re Eren’s _what_?”

The room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees (or maybe Eren _was_ finally dying) as those words echoed off the walls. Eren buried his face in his hands, unable to look at either Mikasa or Levi at the moment.

Unfortunately, the lack of sight only made him focus on Levi’s rock hard body, which was currently entangled between his legs. The height difference placed Levi’s hip directly at his crotch, and, even with clothing on, he could feel the shorter man’s muscles ripple with power as Levi shifted on top of him.

Ok, he _must_ be dying if he’s having thoughts like that while in his current situation.

“I’m his husband.” Levi’s low voice retorted. “Who are you again?”

“I’m his _sister_ , shortstack. Get the fuck up and off my brother.”

Levi didn’t move.

Eren peeked between his fingers and saw Levi glaring defiantly at Mikasa. He couldn’t help but admire how the raven was holding his ground against his sister, steely blue eyes flashing in defiance, every muscle in his body tense, as if ready to spring into action.

It was kinda hot.

“Fuck, what is wrong with me?”

The two Ackermans broke their glaring contests to glance down at Eren.

“Shit did I say that out loud?” Eren pushed Levi off of him and got to his feet. “Mikasa, please don’t freak out. I was going to tell you, but, well, things happened.”

“Tell me this didn’t happen on that night you didn’t call me back.”

“Uh…” Eren wrung his hands and glanced at Armin and Annie for help.

Unluckily for him, they two were simultaneously leaning on his counter, watching the drama unfold with amused eyes. Annie crossed her arms over her chest and flashed him a smirk when she made eye contact with him.

“So.” Mikasa set her bags down and approached Eren, who backed away, grabbed Levi, and pulled the shorter man in front of him like a shield. “You married a complete stranger two nights ago? And didn’t bother telling me?”

“Mikasa, listen to me!” Eren pleaded, peeking over Levi’s head. “I was gonna tell you, but I was hoping to get an annulment before I did, so at least it would seem like I’d taken care of it, but then he refused to get the marriage annulled, and he’s as stubborn as you are, and I’m sorry, I should’ve told you, I’m so sorry!”

By this point, he’d backed up against the wall and was clutching at Levi’s arms so tightly the raven swore his circulation was cut off.

“Oi, Eren. Mind releasing me?” Levi asked.

“No!” Eren squeaked, burying his face into his back. “I’ll die!”

“Eren, not that I don’t love the intimate contact, but I can’t feel my arm right now, and I need them if you want me to fight this crazy woman off.”

Eren wished fervently to die. Levi clearly wasn’t just satisfied with pouring a little fuel on the fire. No, he wasn’t going to stop until the entire fucking state of Pennsylvania was under a raging wildfire.

“Are you going to let him talk to your sister like that?” Mikasa demanded.

“It’s not like you’re married to him; why are you so worked up? Even if you _are_ his sister, the crazy look in your eyes is not appropriate for the relationship between the two of you.” Levi crossed his arms over his chest (as best he could with Eren’s hands still gripping his biceps, which swelled with the movement), giving Mikasa his signature glare.

“What the fuck do you know about the relationship between the two of us? Eren, release the little midget ball of anger right now. You’re staying at my place tonight.” Mikasa reached to pry Eren’s hands off of Levi’s arm.

Levi deftly maneuvered himself and Eren around the advancing woman. “Actually, I think Eren’s staying here tonight. I can’t seem to shake him off me, anyway.”

“Eren, come stay with me tonight.”

“Eren, don’t you dare let go of me.”

“Weren’t you _just_ yelling at him to let go of your arms?”

“Clearly that thick ass scarf is wrapped too far up your face and affecting your hearing.”

“Did you just insult my scarf?”

“Hmm, looks like I was right about your hearing.”

“Oh my god, you two!” Eren finally stepped out from behind Levi and placed himself firmly between the two of them. Now that Mikasa’s rage was clearly directed more toward Levi, he felt safer facing the furious girl. “It’s like listening to two 6-year olds fight over a favorite toy!”

He turned to Mikasa and gave her a hug. “First, good to see you, Mikasa, here’s your welcome hug.”

The girl blinked, then wrapped her arms around the taller man.

Eren let out a sigh of relief. Thank god his hugs haven’t lost their magical touch with her. No matter how enraged Mikasa was, give her a nice, 15 to 20-second-long Eren hug, and she became reasonable again.

Levi stared, shocked at the sudden change in the girl’s posture and demeanor. First the short, vicious blonde, and now this angry, rage-filled Asian. What was Eren, some sort of demon-girl tamer?

When Eren felt his sister finally relax, he pulled back and held her at arm’s length. “Mika—” (Levi was taken aback by the contrast of such a cute nickname for such an angry person.) “—I appreciate your concern, but I think I’m going to stay home tonight. I’m very sorry I didn’t tell you about this earlier, things just got away from me. Why don’t we grab dinner tomorrow and I’ll catch you up on everything.”

“But Eren—”

Eren directed his largest, most doleful puppy-dog eyes at her.

“No, don’t give me those eyes, Eren. You know they don’t work with—”

Eren added a pout to his arsenal.

Mikasa’s eye started twitching. “No, stop. That’s playing dirty. Just because you got your way as a kid like that—”

Eren intensified his pout.

“Stop! Don’t do that!” Mikasa knew she was fighting a losing battle at this point. Eren putting on puppy dog eyes and a sideways pout could stop even a charging giant in their tracks. “That’s not fair…fine. Dinner tomorrow. This isn’t over though you know.”

As if for added emphasis, she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

Eren broke into a smile. “Thanks, Mika.”

Then he turned to Levi. His face was strange blend of annoyed and apologetic, like he was fighting one of the emotions. Levi mirrored Mikasa and folded his arms over his chest. He was a little fed up with the antagonism for the day and if Eren was going to give him crap for this… well let’s just say his patience for even Eren was running thin at this point.

“Um, I’m sorry about all this, Levi.”

Levi blinked and dropped his arms to his sides. “What?”

“I said I’m sorry, okay?” Eren huffed, although it looked more like a pout. “I shouldn’t have tried to shove you under the sink. And…” He paused, mouth open as if he was going to continue, then snapped it shut, scowling. “Nevermind.”

“Not that I don’t love watching all of this,” Annie’s voice drifted from the kitchen. “But since there isn’t going to be an actual showdown, I think it’s time for Chinese food. Mikasa, you should probably come with us.”

Mikasa opened her mouth to protest.

“I think that would be a good idea,” Eren quickly cut in. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow, alright?”

The girl was clearly unhappy with his decision, but nodded. She picked up the bag she had dropped onto the floor and handed it to Eren. “Call me if you need _anything_.” She gave Levi a look that could only be described as disgust. Her voice dropped a level. “And please, Eren, whatever happens, don’t let yourself be hurt again.”

Eren gave her a grateful smile and hugged her again tightly.

Armin and Annie were already at the door waiting for them. “Don’t worry,” Armin said to Mikasa. “Eren can take care of himself, and I’ll explain everything while we get food, alright?”

When the group finally left, Eren turned to find Levi standing at the end of the hall, arms crossed tightly, his scowl a little darker than usual.

“What?” Eren asked.

“Care to explain why your sister has such a foul attitude? That was far more hostility than I deserved, frankly.”

Eren sighed. He wasn’t ready to explain everything about his relationship with Mikasa and why she was so suspicious of anyone he might be dating at the moment. Still, Levi was right and he deserved _some_ kind of explanation.

“Unfortunately that’s Mikasa in a nutshell. She’s always been very protective of Armin and me, and given…recent circumstances, she’s become a little more protective than usual. Sorry you were on the receiving end of it.”

Levi raised an eyebrow. “By ‘recent circumstances’, are you talking about Jean?”

The answer was obvious from the way Eren tensed. Something flashed across his face, but it disappeared before Levi could identify it. Complete and utter fury immediately overtook his features. “What did Armin tell you?” His voice was quiet, but held a kind of threat behind it that almost made Levi take a step back.

“Nothing.” Levi shrugged. “He just mentioned you’d had a nasty breakup recently but declined to give me any details and said that you’d talk when you were ready.”

Eren didn’t relax his posture, but that threatening undertone was gone when he spoke again. “Well then to answer your question, yes, that’s why Mika is being overprotective at the moment. Look, I’ve had a long day and just want to go to sleep; I have work early tomorrow. If you’re still planning on staying over, can I at least have my bed tonight?”

Levi uncrossed his arms, surprised. Eren wasn’t going to try to kick him out?

Apparently the question was only a formality, because Eren brushed past him on the way up the stairs, shoulders still tight.

Levi suddenly reached out, catching Eren’s wrist.

“What?” Eren’s voice was rough, harsh, even.

“Eren, I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but I _promise_. I promise you that I would never hurt you.” Levi blurted. He had never seen the younger man act the way he was now, and he felt a desperate need to do something about it. Although he still couldn’t place the emotion Eren had displayed earlier, there was a pained look now that darkened both of his multi-colored eyes.

The laugh that escaped Eren’s throat was dry, sarcastic, and very un-Eren-like. “Levi, can you really say that while you’re doing what you’re doing right now? Can you honestly tell me that you’re not going through all of this in the hopes of a good fuck or something?”

“What? No!” Whatever Levi had been expecting as a response, it certainly wasn’t this. “I mean it! I’m shit with words and emotions and stuff, but I already told you, I know how I feel about you. I’m not going to let you go; going five years wondering where you were and if I’d ever see you again was enough for me!”

Confusion flickered across Eren’s face. “You’re lying.”

“What the fuck brat?” Levi was flabbergasted by this behavior. “I’m telling you that I’ve had feelings for you since you were an intern at my firm and you’re flat out calling me a liar?”

Eren was silent, eyebrows furrowed. “But…” He finally said. “But why…?”

“Hah?”

“I don’t understand why.”

“Why what?”

Eren opened his mouth to respond, stopped, then shut his mouth with an almost audible click. “Nevermind. I’m really tired and need to get to sleep. I’ll bring some blankets down for you.”

With that, he pulled away from Levi and rushed up the stairs.

Levi stood in the hallway, dumbfounded. What just happened? He’d never seen Eren this way before. If there was one thing the brat was, it was confident. Even faced with an impossible situation, Eren always seemed to think the sky was the limit and never shied away.

Clearly there was more to the breakup than just a long-term relationship gone south. He knew Eren needed some time and space, but part of him desperately wanted to know what had happened so that he could make things right for the brunette. Eren should never look anything less than the passionate, bright-eyed (sometimes angry) brat he was.

Meanwhile, Eren had returned with an extra comforter and pillows and was making the couch. He’d noticed that Levi hadn’t moved from the spot in the hallway, but currently felt too drained to really do anything about it. Mostly, he was a little frustrated that Armin had mentioned Jean to Levi in the first place. That was definitely a wound that hadn’t even started to scab over and he certainly didn’t need Levi poking at it while it was still raw.

He paused after he finished fluffing up the pillow. For some reason, he couldn’t get Levi’s words out of his mind. The raven has sounded so genuine, so concerned, that a part of him wanted to believe his words. His wrist still burned where Levi’s fingers had been, and he couldn’t help but imagine what if would feel like if his hands were to be touching the rest of him—

A hand gently closed on his shoulder. Eren blinked, realizing that he’d been standing there, staring at the couch in silence for a while. He glanced over to see Levi standing next to him, his thin brows furrowed with concern.

“Eren, are you alright?”

Levi’s voice was gentle, his touch even more so, and Eren suddenly found himself hoping the contact would never end.

“Y—” He took a deep breath, and looked away, trying to keep his voice steady. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m really tired.”

“Eren…”

Something in Levi’s voice made Eren’s heart race. He felt Levi remove his hand from his shoulder, but before he could feel sad about the loss, those same fingers tenderly cupped his face to turn him toward Levi again.

Amber and jade met steel blue as Levi stepped in close to Eren. The height difference had never been more noticeable as Eren looked down at Levi, noticing how his dark bangs swept across his forehead as he tilted his face up to maintain eye contact.

Levi’s other hand came up to rest on the back of Eren’s neck, gently pulling, urging him down. Eren hesitated, but found his own hands moving, almost like they were out of his control, to rest on Levi’s hips. He resisted the shorter man’s tugging for a second longer, before he allowed himself to be pulled toward—

‘ _Why would anyone actually **want** someone like you?_ ’

Eren jerked back so fast he nearly tripped and fell.

Levi’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he caught his own balance when Eren suddenly pulled back. What the hell? For second there, he was sure Eren was going to kiss him.

Now the brunette was taking hasty steps back, face twisted in pain and disgust, his arms coming up to put more distance between the two of them. “I really need to—sorry, I just can’t—I have to—” Eren fumbled over his words as he continued to back away from Levi, who was still too stunned to move.

It was like he suddenly had no control over his body as he stumbled backwards, trying to steady himself on his feet. He didn’t stop until his back hit the wall.

Eren covered his face in his hands, trying to keep his emotions in check. Part of his mind registered how embarrassed he was going to be, acting like this in front of Levi, but the larger part of him was more focused on trying to calm his beating heart.

That familiar, nauseous twisting of his stomach that he had become all too accustomed to in the past few months was back, his chest so tight he struggled to breathe. He could feel that hot, stinging sensation bubble up his throat as pressure built behind his eyes.

Uh-uh.

He refused to still react this way because of some stupid breakup.

No, he was stronger than this. He needed to control himself.

Suddenly, he felt his hands pulled from his face.

He blinked, eyes prickling with the heat of the tears he was so desperately trying to hold back as he tried to register what was happening—

And then Levi’s lips were on his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some development…? Sorry it’s kind of a short chapter. This chapter is unedited so let me know if there are any typos/edits!
> 
>  **So a few things** -I just found out that I have to move across the country last week and am currently SLAMMED with multiple projects and am scrambling to find somewhere to live and figure out how I’m going to move all my shit to the opposite coast. So I really, really apologize for not updating as frequently as I would like. 
> 
> That being said, I cannot begin to thank you all enough for sticking with my slowly updating ass through this story. Every comment I receive (on any of my fics really) means more than you can imagine and I’m sorry I don’t get around to responding to all of you. 
> 
> **THIS IS NOT ME DISCONTINUING THE STORY IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM**. I just wanted to let you guys know I’m not giving up on this story and apologize for updating so infrequently. Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> And finally, I’m trying to meet more people in the fandom and cosplay world via [my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/evangelinejl_art/) so feel free to DM me on there! I would love to connect with more Riren/Ereri fans to be honest.
> 
>  **Preview for next Chapter:** Levi responds to an emergency call at the fire station. Eren frets...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **O.M.F.G. Guys. This story has surpassed 500 Kudos! Thank you all so much! And to those who read all my works-HUGE thank you for helping Just Go With It surpass 500 Kudos as well! I seriously was crying when I saw. You guys are the freaking best and I appreciate each and every one of you!!**
> 
> Anyway…thank you for all your kind words and understanding from the last chapter. Here it is, a 4.4K word chapter! Hope you enjoy!

They say everything you need to know about someone is in that first kiss.

Well, Eren was calling bullshit.

His first kiss with Levi was messy, desperate (both not particularly in a good way), and frankly, far too short to tell anything by.

Levi pulled away, his hands still gripping Eren's wrists securely, and looked up at Eren. "Oi. Are you back here with me?"

Eren blinked. Whatever he was expecting Levi to say, it certainly wasn't that. Then again, when did the man do anything that was remotely predictable? "Um…yes? What?"

"Tch. You were on the verge of having a panic attack."

"So you kissed me?!"

"Hey it worked, didn't it? You're no longer thinking about whatever it is that suddenly triggered it."

"Yeah, but—you can't—what if—" Eren stuttered, trying to find words. Jesus Christ this man made no sense! "If someone is having a panic attack you're supposed to sit them down and tell them to take slow, deep breaths! Maybe give them a hug to ground them—"

"Are you asking me to hug you, Eren?"

Eren's expression was so done, it was practically meme-inducing. "Either way, Levi, you don't kiss someone!"

Levi sighed. "I'm sorry, okay?" He let go of Eren's wrists and backed away. "I didn't really know what to do, and, well…" his voice dropped to a mumble. "I thought that's where things were leading to earlier."

He looked like a kicked puppy, eyes downcast in the shadows of his bangs, a light, embarrassed flush spread across his cheeks as he determinedly refused to meet Eren's eyes.

He looked so cute that Eren wanted to reach over and kiss—no, he was supposed to be angry at him! He suddenly realized that this was probably how Mikasa felt every time he purposely used his puppy dog eyes to quell her anger. Man, was he a brat.

Instead, he sighed, resisting the urge to reach out toward the shorter man. "Never mind, it's ok. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Now he was starting to feel embarrassed too. Great, two grown ass men, refusing to make eye contact due to embarrassment, standing in his living room.

"No it's—"

The sharp beeping of a pager cut Levi short. He spun on his heel and strode over to the kitchen counter, where the little black device was going off.

"Fuck." Levi glanced back at Eren. "Sorry, that was Shitwin. I'm technically not on on-call duty right now; he only calls me for emergencies. I have to go help them."

He scrambled to grab his own clothes (which he had folded neatly and placed in one of the cabinets in Eren's living room) and quickly grabbed his keys and threw off Eren's tank top. As he reached the door, he turned around and glanced at Eren, who was just standing in the living room. "Hey, are you going to be okay?"

Eren blinked, as if finally coming to the present. "Uh, yeah. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Call the station if you need anything."

With that, Levi was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

For some reason, Eren felt oddly alone. That was annoying. After all, this is what he's wanted; Levi to just leave him alone and let his life return to the way it was before.

And yet, in the two days Levi had been there, he'd somehow left his mark (Eren's spices had been alphabetized, and he couldn't help but notice just how clean his bathroom was now) enough to make the loft seem that much emptier when he was no longer there.

Ugh.

Eren rubbed his face, exhaustion setting in. This was too much to deal with. Maybe he'd feel differently after a nice, long sleep. Yeah, that would do the trick.

He turned off the lights and trudged up the stairs, nearly face-planting into his bed. He didn't even have time to crawl under the covers when he felt sleep pull him under. His dreams may have been filled with piercing blue eyes, strong hands, and fleeting kisses that left him craving for more.

* * *

 

When Eren woke up the next morning, Levi still had not returned. He didn’t think too much about it, focused more on his exceptionally busy day at work. By the end of the day, all he wanted to do was to sit back with a glass of wine (yes he was a red wine guy, and proud of it) and watch some Scooby Doo.

Unfortunately, he'd almost forgotten about dinner with Mikasa. He hoped Armin had placated her enough last night that he wouldn't have to go through the entire painful ordeal.

To his surprise, when he got home, there were no signs that Levi had returned yet. Eren checked his watch-it had been a solid 16 hours since Levi had been back; he couldn't have been working this entire time, could he?

Eren scowled. Why was he even worried about what Levi was doing? He should be focused on what he was going to say to Mikasa. And yet, he still reached for the remote to turn on the news.

'… _The raging blaze has yet to be completely subdued as of the last check in at 5,'_ ' the news anchor was saying. ' _Firemen from every station in the Philly area as well as those from the surrounding areas have been called in to help. Earlier this day we spoke with Commissioner Smith about the situation._ '

The screen cut to show a news reporter standing next to the largest man Eren had ever seen, who was all decked out in gear, dirt and sweat plastered across his face. An enormous building was in flames in the background, creating so much smoke that the sky was nearly black.

' _Commissioner, can you tell us about the progress your men have made so far? It's been 12 hours since the fire started, and the blaze doesn’t seem to be any smaller._ '

The man-who also bore an uncanny resemblance to Captain America, Eren noted-frowned at the reporter and said, ' _Unfortunately a lot of the effort prior to now was focused on the rescue of people within the building and containing the fire. I already have three men down due to smoke inhalation and injuries. All the best men in the force are here, but fighting a blaze like this is not like dumping water onto a campfire._ '

' _Sounds like a strenuous situation. What can you tell us about_ —'

The reporter was cut off when a man even larger than the commissioner ran up behind them.

" _Erwin! We need you back in the front! Levi and Hanji just reached the last man trapped in there and need help with an extraction!_ "

The man-Erwin-turned without another word to the reporter, and ran back toward the fire.

Eren felt his stomach flip unpleasantly. The man said Levi, right? He was sure it was just a minor thing-this was what the man did for a living, after all -but he couldn't help but be concerned, especially after seeing just how large that fire was.

His fingers hovered over his phone screen, poised over the new message button. Should he text Levi just to be sure? Would he be bothering him at work? Would it be weird for him to be texting him in the first place? Eren bit his lip. Fuck, this was like texting a new crush or something.

Luckily, his decision was made for him when he glanced at the lock screen and realized it was past 6 and nearly time to meet up with Mikasa. He turned off the TV and reassured himself that it probably was fine and that Levi hadn't contacted him all day because he didn't really have a reason or obligation to, and was probably just resting at the moment.

With one more glance at the black screen, Eren grabbed his car keys and headed out.

* * *

 

"So are you sleeping with him?"

Eren nearly spat out his water. "Mikasa! What the fuck?"

The grey-eyed girl stared at him across the table, face impassive. "Well, it's important."

"How it that important?"

"How is it not? The man is already forcing himself into your home; I want to know if he's forcing you in any other ways."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "No, no I'm not sleeping with him yet."

" _Yet_?"

Eren winced. "No, I didn't mean I have any plans to change that."

Mikasa gave him a skeptical look, but didn't pursue it. "So, do you feel safe with him in the house with you?"

He thought back to that moment last night when Levi was on top of him, ready to attack Mikasa, every muscle in his ripped body tense. "Oh yeah, real safe. I'm sure he could take any intruder."

"I didn't mean if you feel like he's capable of defending you, I meant do you feel safe WITH him? Would he do anything to hurt you?"

"Mikasa, I've known the man for three days."

"You knew him for a year when you were at the firm. Is Levi the kind of guy who would intentionally hurt you? If you think there's even a chance that he might be doing to you what Jean was doing—"

"He's not like that!" Eren cut her off. "Levi…wouldn't do _that_."

Mikasa raised an eyebrow. "This coming from the person who just protested that he knew this Levi character for three days."

She sighed and leaned back. "Eren, I know I can be overbearing. And I know that having yet another person badgering and hovering over you is the last thing you need right now. But Eren," her tone changed to one of concern. "Eren, you're a mess. It's only been 2 months since everything went down, and I know it's affecting you more than you're willing to let on to most people. I just…I just want you to be happy again."

Eren stared down at his lap. He'd forgotten how well Mikasa knew him and just how much his reaction to the breakup with Jean had even affected _her_. He was so used to her watching over him like a helicopter parent and writing her concerns off as overbearing, he'd forgotten how well she could help him look past his own stubbornness and biases and dig to the root of his feelings.

He reach over and offered his hands to her. Mikasa immediately leaned in, gripping his palms tightly, her thumbs rubbing circles at his wrists. "Thank you, Mikasa. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner. I'm not sure what Armin told you, but I think I can handle this. You know I would let you know if anything happened."

The dark haired girl didn't say anything,  just stared up at him with her large, grey eyes. Finally, she gave a small nod. "I see. I can't say I'm happy with how things went down between the two of you, but if you truly feel that he won't be a repeat of Jean, then I'll trust your judgement."

"Really?" Eren was more than a little taken aback. As much as he knew Mikasa meant well, he had been sure that he would need to force the idea down her throat.

"Eren, you've acted more like your old self in the past two days than you have in the last two months. I don't know what Levi is doing, but I feel like I've started to get my brother back. Maybe by being there he's taking your mind off of things; maybe it's something on your end. Either way, I'm glad to see you like this, and as long as you don't get hurt, I'll support whatever you decide."

Her words took Eren completely by surprise.

Levi was changing him?

In the mere 2-3 days he'd been at his house?

What?

Mikasa gave him a small smile. "Judging from your face, you yourself didn't even realize this was happening. Look, if you decide to end things, I will gladly support that. On the other hand, if you decide to stay married…well there better be an official ceremony then. I've always wanted to be a flower girl."

Eren laughed, and Mikasa pulled her hands from his, her smile turning into a grin. "Thank you, Mika."

She nodded, and made space as the waiter brought out their food. "Now. I want to know about this Levi. Who is he? What does he do? Tell me everything."

* * *

 

Eren came home feeling a lot better than he had in a long time. It was a relief to know that Mikasa was taking his situation seriously and had decided to stand by whatever decision he made. He scowled at the his phone, which was sporting a text message from Armin. It was certainly more than what he could say about this little bugger.

He hung his keys by the door and went into the kitchen to grab some wine. He didn't have work until noon tomorrow, so he had every intention of kicking back and watching a few episodes of Game of Thrones.

As Eren plopped down onto his couch with his bottle of wine and wine glass, he frowned. Why was his house so quiet? What was--

He surged to his feet so quickly he almost dropped the glass.

Levi.

Levi still hadn't come back yet, and it had been over 24 hours.

Eren glanced at his phone-no text messages or anything. Wait, did he even have Levi's number? He cursed under his breath when he realized he really had no way of contacting the man. Damn it. Maybe he could go down the the fire station and ask--

A loud bang on his door made him jump. He quickly set down what he was holding and ran to the door.

He threw the door open. "Levi?!"

To his surprise, the guy on the TV from earlier, the super tall guy who had approached Captain America, was standing there, hand raised him mid-knock. He looked surprised for a split second before his face became passive, his small eyes scrutinizing Eren from a good foot above him.

"Um…Can I help y--" Eren froze when the man bent down and took a long sniff of the top of his head. What the hell? Did this man just _smell_ him?!

Before he could say anything, the man straightened and gave him an approving smile and nod.

Eren had never been so disturbed.

"Uh…what…um…can I help you?" Eren finally got out when he finally got over his initial shock of being greeted with a sniff like a dog. "You're from the fire station right?"

The tall man nodded.

Eren felt his stomach sink. "Is it Levi? Is he ok?"

The man gave him another long stare, then beckoned at him and turned to head toward the elevator. When he realized Eren was still standing at the door, he gestured impatiently at the elevator and said, "Come. Levi."

Although Eren was still a little dumbfounded, he got the gist and quickly grabbed his keys and shoes and followed the man down the elevator. He received yet another shock (he was really starting to wonder if his heart could handle any more) when he found an enormous fire engine parked outside his apartment, lights flashing and all.

The tall man held open the front door and beckoned to him.

Now Eren was getting worried. There was no reason someone from the fire department would be coming to get him (and in a fire truck nonetheless) if something bad hadn't happened. However-he glanced at the tall man who was still holding the door open-this guy seemed like a man of few words and Eren also was afraid he'd do more than sniff him if he asked any more questions.

So he climbed into the truck and buckled up, glad that he hadn't changed into in pjs and was still wearing jeans.

Never before had he moved through Philadelphia traffic faster. Turns out the man was not only a silent people sniffer, he was also a maniac on the road. Eren swore they almost hit a few cars on their way.

To his surprise, instead of heading to a firehouse, the man drove him directly toward the building that Eren had seen on TV earlier. Black smoke painted the night sky, reflected off of the large beams of light directed at the still raging fire. From the distance, he could see the men standing at the base of the building supporting one of those giant fire hoses, he could hear the thud-thud-thud of helicopter blades whirring above him, and he could see the myriad of police cars, fire trucks and reporters lining the perimeter.

They drove right past the perimeter toward the fire.

The pit in Eren's stomach grew. Holy crap, they didn't bring him here to identify a body or something right? This wasn't how things worked!

The man pulled to a stop and Eren's door flew open to reveal a ragged-looking, dirt-covered Hanji.

"Good. Eren. Get out."

He'd never heard them use that tone of voice before and scrambled to obey. "Hanji, what's going on? Is Levi ok? Why did that guy drag me here?"

Hanji grabbed his arm and started leading him closer to the fire. "Eren. I know you're not pleased with Levi right now. But I believe you're the only one who can talk some sense into him at the moment." They didn't even turn back to look at him, their eyes were fixated on a group of firefighters who were standing at the entrance of the building.

"What are you talking about? Hanji!" Eren finally dug his heels into the ground. "Look, whatever has happened in the past few days, let's just set that behind us. But I need you to tell me what the hell is going on. First the man shows up at my door, sniffs me and then just says 'Come, Levi.' Now you're speaking all cryptically and it's freaking me out."

The taller brunette pushed their bangs out of their face and sighed. "I'm sorry; we're all just under a lot of stress right now. Ok, look. We just need your help to bring Levi home. Normally with a fire this big, all of us take shifts so that we can rest and recuperate. Levi is easily one of the strongest, most resilient firefighters we have on the force, and he knows just how much his presence helps the other guys. That being said, he's been at work since he arrived last night. Nothing Erwin or I say to him is convincing him to even take a break, but I can just tell his body is going to give out any minute now."

"But he's alright?"

"Just barely. No one, not even Erwin has ever pulled off a 24 hour shift like this without taking some kind of break. There's no way Levi's doing fine." Hanji started toward the  building again. "But he's not listening to us, so I made Mike go get you. I really believe he will listen to you if you ask him to come home."

Hanji stopped and turned to face Eren again. "Look, I know you don't love the thought of inviting Levi back into your home after everything but--"

Eren held up a finger. "Hey. Even though things the last few days have been less than ideal, I am not so heartless I'd leave Levi in a situation like this. Where is he?"

For the first time since he'd seen them that night, Hanji's face relaxed into a grin. "Ahhhh, I'm about to sic Levi's wifey on him. This will be good." They beckoned and led Eren a little ways from the building, toward a fire truck that was parked next to a makeshift tent-like space. "Just wait here and I'll go get our little munchkin."

They indicated at the chair and turned to head back. Before they rounded the truck, Hanji stopped and turned toward him. "Eren. Really, thank you."

Then they were gone.

Eren stayed standing, fingering the collar of his shirt and pacing nervously. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to convince Levi to take a break if neither Hanji nor…was his name Erwin? Well either way it sounded like the two of them were closer to Levi than he was, so he didn't know what good he could do. From the sounds of it though, Levi needed this, and he was determined to bring him back kicking and screaming if necessary.

"—tell Shitwin to back the fuck off! We've lost six of our people to smoke inhalation and I don't know what the fuck inside that building is fueling this damn fire, but I'm not leaving my guys behind!"

Eren heard Levi's voice yelling, getting louder by the second.

"Alright, you tell Erwin that then," Hanji's voice retorted.

"I fucking will! I told the both of you already!" Eren was starting to get nervous; Levi sounded _pissed_. "I’m doing just fucking fine, and I'll be _damned_ if—"

He stopped abruptly when he rounded the corner and saw Eren standing there.

"Um…hey…" Eren started lamely.

Levi whirled on Hanji. "You piece of shit, I can't believe you brought Eren down here at this hour! This is fucking unacceptable! You take him back right fucking now and I'll throw you into the burning building after you get back!"

"Levi!" Eren yelled, finally catching the shorter man's attention.

With a sigh, Levi turned to look at him. Up close, Eren could see just how tired the man really was-the shadows that normally surrounded his eyes were darker than ever, his dark hair was dull and plastered to his forehead with sweat. The normally impeccably clean man was covered head to toe in dirt, blood and oil, and yet he seemed to take no note of any of this.

"Eren, Hanji's going to take you back. They shouldn't have dragged you out here in the first place. Go home and get some rest—"

"Why don't you take your own advice?" Eren cut him off, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "Look, even if that tall guy—Mike, right?—hadn't come to get me, I was already debating going down to the firehouse to make sure you were alright. You look exhausted, and if what Hanji said to me was true, then you probably haven't taken a break since you left last night."

He huffed. "I know, but I'm fine. I'm not going to abandon my squad—"

"Levi, abandoning your squad would be luring them into the woods with no supplies and then leaving their asses behind. You are not abandoning them. Besides, you look like shit. When was the last time you took a shower?"

The last question clearly hit home and Lei visibly flinched. "That's not the point," he mumbled, looking at the ground.

"No, but your argument is still invalid." Eren walked up to the raven and uncrossed his arm. "Take a break, Levi. You're clearly exhausted, and if that exhaustion catches up with you, you're going to do your team more harm than good."

Levi still refused to meet his eyes but still retorted, "I'm _fine_ , Eren. I've done this before—"

"No you haven't!" Hanji sang from behind him.

Before Levi could turn and put and end to the abomination named Hanji, Eren's hands came to his chin to lift his face up. At this distance, Eren could see that despite the exhaustion, Levi's steel grey eyes were still sharp, almost glowing in the dim light from the fire. They were mesmerizing, the grey accented with flashes of cobalt blue with every flicker of the flame, and Eren felt like he could stare and admire those eyes for hours; but he had a task to accomplish.

"Levi, please. You're tired, you're covered in dirt, and even a body running on adrenaline is bound to give out at some point. Please, take care of yourself and just take a break."

"I appreciate the concern, but the firehouse is a ways away, and it'll take too long to—"

Eren shook his head. "I don't mean go take a nap at the fire station. I mean come back home with me."

As soon as the words were out, Eren realized what he'd just said and his face grew as hot as the fire that was raging in the background. He saw Levi's eyes widen as the older man processed what he'd just said, his mouth falling open just slightly.

Well, there was no turning back now.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Levi. Come on. Let's go home."

Without waiting for the other man to get over his shock, Eren grabbed Levi's hand and started to pull him toward the fire truck he'd been brought here in. He saw Hanji give him two thumbs up and a wicked-looking grin out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored them and kept walking.

The tall man who'd sniffed him earlier was already standing at the truck holding the door open, that same approving smile he'd given Eren back at the apartment back on his face. Eren climbed in and reached down to offer his hand to Levi, who took it without a word. Levi sat down next to him and buckled up, refusing to meet the brunette's eyes, body clearly tense.

Eren scowled and reached over, pulling Levi over to rest his head on his shoulder. "Relax, your squad will be fine. Get some sleep and I'll wake you when we're back."

Gradually, he felt Levi relax. As every muscle in his body slowly uncoiled, Eren felt Levi lean his full weight onto him. It wasn't long before his breath evened out and Eren saw his hand, which had been clenched on his leg, slide down to rest on Eren's lap. Eren tilted his head a bit to make sure Levi was asleep, then looked up toward Mike, who tuned and whispered, "Where to?"

Eren turned his gaze back to Levi's sleeping face and brushed his sweat-soaked bangs off his forehead, fingers lingering in the raven's soft undercut.

Without breaking his gaze, he whispered, "Take us home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like the Ereri ship is finally setting sail!!!
> 
> So I really needed some Ereri feels so this happened. Hope you all thought it was worth the wait! Now that I'm finally on the west coast physically, even if I'm not moved in, I will hopefully be updating this on a monthly basis because I really need to focus on my EBB multichapter story.
> 
> ALSO, thank you to all the readers who reached out on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/evangelinejl_art/)! It was so nice chatting with you guys, I absolutely love it when you drop comments even just to say hi! Literally every time, makes my day!
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a comment, they always make me smile :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Thank you so much for the overwhelming support for the last chapter! We’re closing in on 10k hits! I can’t believe how far this story has come and how many reads it has gotten. Honestly, there have been times when I’ve thought about dropping this story, and I really couldn’t have gotten this far without all your support, comments, and encouragement.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Without further ado, another 4K+ word chapter!**

Levi was warm.

As his brain slowly transitioned from sleep to awake, he was only vaguely aware of the soft sheets he was lying on, which smelled pleasantly of citrus with a hint of ginger and nutmeg, overlying an undertone of woody musk. It was a familiar smell, one that his sleepy brain couldn’t quite place, but sent endorphins flooding into his system. He was clearly in a bed, and he was clearly in a bed that was _not his_.

He inhaled deeply and rolled over, slowly opening his eyes.

The sight that greeted him nearly gave him a heart attack.

Eren was lying inches away from his face (shirtless too. Levi sent out a silent thank you prayer), still asleep. His face was slightly smashed against the pillow, and his dark brown bangs swept across his forehead, the ends just barely kissing the tips of his long lashes. His lips were just slightly parted, and Levi resisted the urge to reach up and touch them. One of Eren's arms was bent forward, his hand cradling his head. His shoulders slowly rose and fell with his steady breathing, his toned muscles gently rippling with the motion.

Well.

Levi could certainly get used to a view like this.

When he was asleep like this, his guard completely down, Eren looked so serene, so beautiful. The tension was completely gone from his brows, and despite his eyes being closed, he looked so innocent, so vulnerable that Levi felt an urge to hug him and shelter him from all the crap he had ever gone through.

He reached up and gently tangled his fingers into Eren's soft locks, smiling when the boy nuzzled up into his touch.

It was perfect, and he couldn't wait for Eren to wake up so he could see him slowly open his eyes and watch as those beautiful, heterochromatic irises brighten when the last dregs of sleep finally cleared from his gaze. He still wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten here, but everything felt so perfect, so right that he really didn't care. He just wanted every morning to be like this –waking up next to Eren.

Eren shifted again, his arm coming up to drape over Levi's torso –Levi realized that he was shirtless too, and the skin on skin contact was almost too much for him to handle –as he rolled a little closer so that their bodies were almost touching—

**_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._ **

Levi sat bolt upright in bed as the shrill sound of the fire alarm sliced through the air.

He blinked, hands grappling to find his gear, but he only felt bedsheets around him, and his clothes were nowhere to be found. He turned to check on Eren, only to find that the bed was empty.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Eren came sprinting up the stairs into his lofted bedroom, an oven mitt still on his right hand as he ran to turn the fire alarm off. When he finally stopped the ear-piercing screech, he turned to see Levi sitting up in his bed.

"Shit, I'm so sorry if that woke you up."

Levi was so confused. Wasn't Eren just in bed with him seconds ago?

"Hey, Levi! Earth to Levi! Are you alright?" Eren waved his hands in front of him, frowning. "Are you sure you weren't injured yesterday?"

"Where the fuck am I?"

Eren raised his eyebrows, surprised. "My room. Don't you remember anything from last night?"

Levi looked down at himself. He was only wearing his boxers, and sitting comfortably in Eren's bed…wait did something glorious happen and he missed it all? Was that even possible?

Clearly his face gave his thoughts away because Eren groaned and said, "Ugh, I didn't mean it like that you perverted old man. I meant me picking you up from work."

Now that Eren had said it aloud, the events from last night started coming back to Levi. He remembered the fire, the yelling, the smoke…actually the smoke smell was still present. He looked around. "Oi, is something burning?"

Eren's eyes widened. "Shit! The food!"

He turned and sprinted back downstairs.

Levi rubbed his face. He had a feeling that he had better follow the brat downstairs before something else happened. He slowly got out of bed, wincing as his stiff muscles screamed in protest. He'd never pulled a 24 hour plus shift, and was only just realizing that he was definitely not cut out for something that intense. Damn, getting old sucked.

On the bright side, he couldn't help but smile a little when he remembered how adamant Eren was last night about bringing him home.

And that was the other thing. Eren had referred to his place as _their home_.

He wasn't sure if that was just something the brat had said to try to change his mind at the time or if he'd truly had a change of heart, but it still felt nice hearing the term.

The burning smell was getting stronger, and Levi hastily rifled through Eren's dresser to pull out a pair of sweatpants and headed downstairs, not bothering with a shirt.

Eren was standing in the kitchen, his back to Levi, surrounded by a thick mist of smoke. He held a pan in one gloved hand, the other one busy fanning the air, as he tried to dissipate the dark cloud in vain.

"Oi, you realize an open window works wonders on smoke right?" Levi asked as he opened the giant windows in the living room.

"I know, I was getting—" Eren turned around and dropped the pan with a loud **'CLANG**!'

"Eren! What the hell? Are you alright?" Levi scowled and started toward the kitchen, but was stopped when Eren yelled,

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?!"

As the smoke started clearing up, Levi could make out the faint blush that dusted Eren's cheeks as he stared at him, clearly unable to look away. He raised an eyebrow, face impassive. "Why would I, when you seem like you're enjoying the view so much?"

The blush on Eren's face grew and his mouth moved wordlessly as he continued to gape. Levi couldn't help but flex a little, and he had to hold back a smirk when he saw Eren's eyes flicker down to land on his abs. He crossed his arms over his chest (fists clenched, obviously, to show off his forearms), and jut a hip out. "My face is up here, brat."

Eren's mouth snapped shut and an annoyed look crossed his face. "I'm looking at your face, asshole. You just can't tell because I have to look down to see you anyway."

"Really, Eren? A jab at my height?"

The brunet shrugged and scooped the pan from the ground. "Awww, did I hurt the small man's feelings?"

Levi snorted. "Trust me, my height is the _only_ small thing about me, kid."

 **CLANG**!

This time Levi couldn't keep the smirk off his face when Eren dropped the pan a second time.

"Levi! I swear to god!" Eren sputtered as he bent to scoop up the pan again. "Does everything you say have to have some sort of sexual innuendo or—"

"What were you even doing down here?" Levi cut him off. As far as he knew, Eren only ever ate salads or takeout (how he stayed in such good shape was beyond him) yet the boy was holding a sauté pan and the countertop was littered with spices and food. He swore there was oil splattered on the wall and what looked like three oddly cracked eggs leaking on the counter.

Eren snapped his mouth shut and his face turned a violent shade of red. "Nothing. I uh…was just trying something new."

"Testing how to make an atomic bomb? Look at this place!"

"No…I was just…" Eren mumbled the end of his sentence.

Levi frowned. "What?"

"I was…I was just trying to make you breakfast, ok?" Eren blurted, shuffling from foot to foot, eyes glued determinedly to the floor, where Levi could now make out a small pile of…something black. Levi looked around the kitchen and realized that amongst the mess of oil, eggs, and what looked like (questionable) pancake batter, there was a plate with what looked like eggs, toast and maybe a sausage piled on top of it.

Levi blinked. Did Eren Jaeger, the man who was notorious for never attempting to cook, just try to make him breakfast?

Why, that was so sweet he could just feel himself getting diabetes.

He walked over and picked up the plate. "Was this what you were making?"

Eren still refused to look at him and instead turned to start putting the pans and plates into the sink. "Yes, ok? I know I’m shit at cooking, but you’re always making me food and stuff, and I figured you might be tired today so I thought—what are you doing?!"

While he had been busy throwing things into the sink, Levi had retrieved a fork and started shoving the food on the plate into his mouth.

The scrambled eggs were rubbery and burnt; Eren had clearly forgotten the salt. The toast had failed to become actually toasted, and the sausages were so overdone it was practically a pile of charred, black sticks.

It was the best food Levi had ever had.

"What does it look like?" Levi said between bites. "I'm eating the breakfast you made for me."

"But it's disgusting!"

"Look, I'm not going to lie; this is no four-star Michelin Star restaurant food. But it's good."

"You don't have to lie." Eren looked torn between wanting to tear the plate from his hands and wanting to smile.

"Brat do I look like someone who would lie, just to spare someone's feelings?"

Eren couldn't deny that he had a point there.

"Ok…well…I uh…I have to go to work." Eren finally said, putting the last pan (Levi briefly wondered how Eren managed to use over ten different pans while trying to make breakfast) into the sink. "I left my cell and work number on the coffee table so just let me know if you need anything. You're not going back into work, are you?"

Levi shook his head. "My group isn't on duty until tomorrow, and I have a feeling shitty glasses is going to try to make me stay in. I need to swing by the station and grab my things though."

"Oh. Well, um…bye then." With that, Eren grabbed his keys and wallet from the counter and headed toward the door.

"Have a nice day!" Levi called out.

The keys dropped to the floor with a loud clatter.

Levi stuck his head into the hallway. "Oi, are you alright?"

Eren looked a little pale, but he scooped up his keys and nodded. "Yeah. It's just…it's just been a while since I've had someone say that to me in this house. I'll see you after work."

And with that, he was gone. Levi frowned, but his attention was immediately pulled away to the mess Eren had left in the kitchen. He rolled his eyes. Of course Eren had left without _actually_ cleaning up. He quickly located Eren's cleaning supplies and tied a white handkerchief around his head.

Well, time for him to get to work.

* * *

 

 

Over the next few weeks, Levi and Eren adopted a very roommate-like situation.

More accurately, they developed a roommates-with-sexual-tension-but-they-were-finally-at-peace-so-no-one-wanted-to-disturb-the-balance-like situation.

Still, Levi's time was ticking, and there had been no new developments since the night of the fire. He was itching to do something-anything-to try to take their relationship a little further, but—

"You still haven't even taken Eren on a date?!"

Levi scowled across the table, where Hanji and Armin were sitting side-by-side. The blonde did a dramatic face palm, and Hanji was doubled over in laughter, their cackle so obnoxious it was attracting stares from everyone in the Starbucks.

"I can't believe I'm reduced to talking to the two of you assfaces about this. No, alright? We've been tip-toeing around each other ever since that night of the fire, and he's finally getting comfortable having me around!" Levi practically snarled.

"That was almost two weeks ago! Levi, you've got—" Armin counted off in his head. "—like five weeks left!"

"I fucking know that! But seriously, I want to do right by him, and I can't help but feel like there are just too many unresolved issues between him that that ex of his. Eren clearly still doesn’t trust me enough, because he still hasn't told me what happened, and most of the time, I'm lucky if he initiates a conversation with me."

Armin frowned. "Well then ask him for a date night! He has Fridays off, you know; I'm sure your schedules coincide ONE of those days over the weekend."

Levi frowned. "He has Fridays off?"

Armin nodded.

"He hasn't been home at all the last two Fridays." Levi said, his stomach sinking. "I just assumed he was at work."

"…I'm sure he's just busy with work. He's always complaining that he's behind on documentation." Armin finally said. "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Anyway, date ideas," Hanji added. "I feel like Eren is the romantic type, but maybe do something competitive to keep him engaged."

"We're talking about Eren, not trying to entertain a 10-year old." Levi said.

"Eh…pretty much the same thing. You should go Go Karting!"

Levi shuddered. "Fuck no."

"Eren's definitely a romantic, but in subtle ways," Armin mused. "He appreciates when you notice little things –like one time he mentioned that he liked dinosaurs in passing, and simply adored the stuffed dinosaur we surprised him with. Or when he mentioned that he wished there was something he could do for this stray dog-and then was given an opportunity to volunteer at the Humane Society. He loves that kind of stuff."

Fuck, if Levi didn't already adore Eren, the things that Armin had just said would have made him fall hard for the boy.

"Well he hasn't mentioned anything like—"

"The beach!" Armin suddenly yelled, jumping to his feet. "I can't believe I'd forgotten about the beach! Eren _loves_ the beach but his favorite one in the area is 2 hours away. You could surprise him with a beach day!"

Levi mulled the idea over. It wasn't a bad idea; and a small vacation like that might do the both of them some good. "That sounds excellent, but in case you couldn't tell, I can't remember the last time I went to the beach. What do you do there? Sit in the sand?"

"Oh Rehoboth Beach is amazing! You could take him dolphin watching! Eren loves dolphins—"

"Of course he does."

"—And there's a downtown area where there are amusement rides and an arcade and stuff!"

"Jesus, I really am taking a 10 year old on a date," Levi groaned.

"Levi, stop acting your age." Hanji cackled. "This is the cutest freaking thing I've ever heard. Live a little!"

Levi had to admit, the thought of watching dolphins with Eren and maybe even going on a ride on a Ferris wheel together certainly appealed to him more than he would like to openly admit. However, there was one little issue with this plan, one issue that he hoped would somehow not come into play when they went to the beach.

"This is perfect. I really think Eren will love it!" Armin declared, pulling Levi from his thoughts.

Levi pushed his concern away and nodded. "I'll see if he wants to go this Friday then."

"Make sure you book a romantic hotel overlooking the beach!"

"Shut up, shitty glasses."

"Oh come on, when was the last time you got laid?"

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh come on, this is the perfect time to tap that Jaeger booty!"

"Hanji, what are you, a wannabe teenager?" Levi scowled. He had a feeling Eren would not react well if he mentioned that they were going to stay overnight at the beach together. Judging from his extreme reaction to their kiss from two weeks ago (Jesus that was so long ago!), Levi could only see a hotel overnight stay ending badly.

"I also don't think that would be a good idea," Armin quickly added. "However, I think a day trip to the beach is exactly what Eren needs right now. The rest is up to you, captain."

Levi raised his eyebrow at the nickname, but didn't protest.

"Of course, if you're aiming for Friday, that gives you like three days to plan this."

"…Shit."

* * *

 

Levi had never felt so nervous before.

Damn it, he was a 32-year-old man, not a love-struck teenager about to ask out the captain of the football team! Eren was almost out of the shower (don't think about Eren in the shower, don't think about Eren in the shower…), and he needed to throw the idea out so that at least it wasn't a last minute thing.

"Shower's free, Levi." Eren called, stepping down from the lofted bedroom in all his half-naked glory. Levi would be lying if he said he wasn't hoping for a towel malfunction right about now.

"Right." Levi said, his mind drawing a blank. What was he trying to say again?

"Do you work tomorrow? It's my long day so I won't be home till really late." Eren continued, walking into the kitchen to grab his Brita pitcher.

"No, I’m off until Sunday."

"Hm. Cool."

Levi fidgeted in his spot on the couch. "Oi, Eren."

"Yeah?"

"We're going to the beach on Friday."

The brunet shut the fridge door abruptly and turned to look at Levi. He blinked, and a frown slowly crossed his features. "What?"

Damn it, that was not how Levi had planned to ask Eren. Granted, he didn't actually ask…more like he'd ordered the brat to come with him.

"I said we're going to the beach on Friday. Do you have water in your ears?"

Fuck was there some sort of sarcasm filter that made everything that came out of his mouth sound crass when he was nervous? Levi wanted to bury his face in his hands. He was pretty sure this was the worst way of asking someone out in the history of asking for dates.

The frown on Eren's face deepened. "I'm busy Friday."

"Shit, I'm not good at this, Eren." Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up heading towards the kitchen. "I’m trying to ask you to go on a date with me, damn it."

"…your way of asking someone on a date… is by asking if they have water in their ears and demanding they go somewhere with you?" Despite his words, Eren's tone was amused.

"Tch." Levi grit his teeth and crossed his arms over his chest.

Eren didn't miss the faint blush that had dusted across Levi's cheeks as he determinedly glared at a non-existent spot on the wall. At first, he'd been annoyed that Levi had basically ordered him around, but now that it was apparent Levi was just a bumbling thirty-something, socially awkward old man, it was…well it was kind of endearing.

He had been wondering if anything would change after the events of two weeks ago, but since then (to his surprise) Levi hadn't tried anything else. It had thrown him off a little, especially considering how aggressive he had been when the whole thing started.

Even so, he'd found himself relaxing around Levi and discovered that he rather enjoyed having him as a roommate. A few times, he'd even caught himself wondering what it would be like if the two of them actually started living together, and was shocked that he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea.

Despite that, absolutely nothing more had happened between the two of them, and Eren was conflicted between feeling relieved and disappointed.

But now Levi was asking him on an actual date, and even though he'd been wondering and thinking more about the two of them, Eren wasn't entirely sure he wanted or was ready to go.

"Um…honestly, I have something going on Friday. Where were you thinking of going?" Eren finally said.

"Some place called Rehobo or Reboho…some beach."

"Rehoboth beach?!" Eren exclaimed. He had no doubt Armin had a hand in Levi picking out this beach of all places, but he couldn't care. He hadn't been to Rehoboth beach in ages, and with the summer almost ending, it was really the perfect time to go.

"Yeah, that one."

"Damn it, I really am busy this Friday.” Eren groaned and rubbed his face. Levi felt his gut tighten uncomfortably as disappointment like he had never felt before started to set in.

“I'm helping teach a kid's class at Mikasa's gym and was planning on going to a seminar on Vestibular Disorders associated with childhood Scoliosis later." Eren continued; he _did_ look rather disappointed. "Shit, I'm sorry, Levi."

"Whatever, it was a last minute thing anyway," Levi shrugged, trying not to sound too dejected.

Eren opened his mouth to say something, but Levi quickly turned away. "I'm going to take a shower. I know you're up early tomorrow, so I'll be quick and out of the loft before you're in bed." And with that, Levi headed up the stairs.

If he'd stopped and turned around though, he would have seen the look of regret and disappointment, clear as a neon sign on Eren's face.

* * *

 

 

"Aw, cheer up, I’m sure it'll work out next week!" Hanji said, handing Levi his black coffee. "You said so yourself, Eren looked bummed about saying no!"

"Tch, I'm not uncheerful, this is how my face is, glasses." Levi retorted, accepting the beverage.

"What did he say he was doing today instead?"

"Does rubbing salt into a wound give you some sick pleasure or something? He said he was helping his sister at her gym this morning and was planning on attending a seminar later today. It's not like he was lying; he left in full gym gear today."

"Was he wearing black shorts and a loose white tank top lined with blue?"

Levi stared, shocked that Hanji would know something like that. "Yes, why?"

Hanji pointed across the street. "Isn't that Eren then?"

Levi followed their finger and sure enough, saw Eren standing across the street, standing close to a taller blond man who had just placed his hands suggestively on Eren's hips.

Oh fuck no.

Without another word, Levi strode across the street, every ounce of his will focused on keeping his anger in check and preventing his coffee from spilling over him. Now that he was getting closer, he could see that the man had backed Eren against the wall of the building, and even though he couldn't see Eren's face, one of the man's hands had left Eren's hips to grip his wrist tightly.

Levi stormed right up to the pair, grabbed the man's arm that was closest to him, and wrenched him roughly off of Eren.

"Hey! What the hell?" The man yelled as he stumbled to regain his footing, the duffle bag around his shoulders throwing him off balance.

"I don't know who the fuck you are, but get your hands off of Eren," Levi snarled, glaring over his shoulder at the man.

"What the fuck, Eren? Who is this?" The man demanded. Now that Levi was closer, he realized just how tall this other man was, with a build similar to Eren's, and light brown eyes that met his glare with equal vigor.

Levi turned to face the man, giving him the angriest scowl he could muster. "I'm the fucking guy who's going to kick your ass if you don't back the fuck off right fucking now. Who the fuck—"

A hand gently gripped his shoulder, and he turned his head to see Eren standing closely behind him, his gaze fixed determinedly on the ground, face red as he shifted his weight, clearly uncomfortable. "That's enough, Levi. It's ok."

Unluckily for him, the hand he'd placed on Levi was the same on the man had grabbed from earlier, and Levi could see the places where the man's nails had dug into Eren's flesh. That burning anger returned, churning his stomach and making his muscles quake. "No, it is not fucking ok! What—"

"Levi."

Something in Eren's tone made Levi shut his mouth.

Eren sighed and finally looked up at the man who was standing a few feet away, the look in his eyes unreadable.

"Levi, this is Jean. Jean Kirstein."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **DUN DUN DUN**. Jean finally appears! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and let me know what you liked/hated/suggestions/etc.
> 
>  
> 
> **PLEASE READ:**
> 
>   
>  _I will be updating this story the first full weekend of every month (although lets be honest, as a writer, more comments and stuff usually translates into longer chapters and more motivation). Right now my schedule with moving (again), studying for boards, and working full time simply does not allow me the time I would like to spend writing._   
> 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Love you all! 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I just want to say thank you all so much for all your amazing comments! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I would never have made it this far without all of your support, and I hope you will continue to enjoy this story!**
> 
> **And now, a 5k long chapter! They just keep getting longer and longer….lol**

_"Levi, this is Jean. Jean Kirstein."_

Levi stared in disbelief at Eren before turning his gaze back to the tall man in front of him.

 _This_ was Jean Kirstein?

 _This_ was the man who had clearly hurt Eren so profoundly that his actions were still affecting Eren even three months later?

 _This_ was Jean Fucking Kirstein?

In a split second, Levi had covered the distance between himself and Jean, pulled back his hand, and hit Jean in the face with the meanest right hook he had ever mustered.

"LEVI!" Eren yelled.

"What the fuck, man?!" Jean yelped from the ground, one hand cradling his jaw (which may have been dislocated, Levi wasn't sure, nor did he care).

"I may not know the exact details about what happened between the two of you," Levi snarled, his voice so low that Eren could barely make it out over the din of traffic. "But I do know that you abso-fucking-lutely deserved that."

Jean opened his mouth to retort, but Levi stepped in and leaned down so that he was face-to-face with the man, and plowed on. "After all the shit you put him through, don't you fucking _dare_ talk to Eren again. If I so much as catch you breathing air in the same room as him, I swear I'll make this punch feel like a minor bump compared to what I'll do to you."

With that, Levi stood up, turned, and held out his hand. "Come on Eren. Let's go."

The brunet had been rooted in his spot, unable to respond to what had just unfolded before him. His mouth was slightly parted in shock, his gaze locked on the man sitting on the ground, his trembling hands the only tell on his emotions.

At Levi's words, his eyes drifted up to Levi's face, then came to land on his outstretched hand.

Levi's heart was pounding, from the adrenaline or from the anticipation of Eren's next move, he wasn't sure. Either way, he could tell from Eren's body language earlier that he hadn't been entirely pleased to see Jean, and even if Eren was going to be mad at him for what he'd just done, he knew that he didn't regret punching the crap out of Jean.

Now all that was left was for Eren to make a move.

Trembling fingers interlaced with his, and Levi looked down to see Eren's hand grip his own tightly. Eren's normally warm hands were cold and a little clammy, despite the warm weather, but his fingers slotted themselves perfectly between Levi's pale ones.

His lips curled into a satisfied smile, and he wasted no time before turning and pulling Eren down the street, away from Jean, who was still sitting, dumbfounded, on the ground.

They made their way toward the lot where Levi had parked his car. Neither of them said a word, but Eren's grip on Levi's hand remained tight.

When they got to the lot, Levi reluctantly released Eren's hand. Eren hesitated, before pulling away, his gaze landing everywhere except in Levi’s direction.

"Get in," Levi ordered, unlocking his car.

Eren finally glanced over and his eyebrows shot up. "You drive a Tesla?"

"Tch. Yes, I like fast cars. Now get in."

He didn't wait for Eren to respond and got in the driver's seat.

When Eren was in the car and settled, Levi started the engine and tore out of the lot towards I-95. He rolled down the windows, allowing the cool summer breeze to whip through the car. He stole a glance at Eren, who was leaning back in his seat, staring out the window, expression blank. The wind was mussing up his already messy hair, whipping his bangs back and out of his face.

They were driving for a good twenty minutes before Eren broke the silence.

"Thank you, Levi."

Levi rolled up the windows so that he could hear him better. "For what?"

Eren stared at his hands. "For what you did."

"I did nothing you need to thank me for, Eren. But tell me—did you have plans to meet up with this Jean? Is that why you said no to going out?"

"What? No!" Eren turned to fully face Levi. "I would never—No! I haven't seen Jean since we broke up; haven't even talked to him! I had no idea he was going to swing by Mika's gym after her class today! The only reason we were even together today was because if he'd stayed at the gym, Mikasa would've killed him."

The knot in his stomach he didn't even realize was there slowly came undone at Eren's words. Levi shifted his grip on the steering wheel as the haze of anger slowly subsided from his brain. Suddenly he was acutely aware of the fact that his right hand was throbbing. "What the fuck did he want from you? Why was he even there then?"

"He—" Eren's voice caught for a second.

Levi glanced over, worried, but only saw Eren's eyes blazing in anger. His fists were clenched in his lap, his brows furrowed so tightly they were nearly connected on his forehead.

"Oi, relax your face," Levi said. "You're going to get premature wrinkles, like me."

Eren snorted in spite of himself.

They stayed quiet, the only break in the silence the blare of an occasional car horn. It was another twenty minutes before Eren finally turned and asked, "Hey, where are you going?"

"We’re going to the beach."

"What?!" Eren sat upright in his seat and twisted to fully face Levi. "Levi! I have a Continuing Ed class later today!"

"Do you really think you'll learn anything and retain it in the state you're in right now?" Levi retorted, not even slowing the car down, his eye glued to the road. "We're going to the beach, you're going to have a fucking blast doing whatever the fuck you want, and that's that."

Eren stared, unaware that his lips were slowly curving into a smile. It was moments like this that reminded him of how caring and sensitive Levi was, beneath that resting bitch face. He truly appreciated what Levi had done earlier (and he had a feeling Levi had just thrown himself into Mikasa's good graces) and for the first time since Levi had been thrown back into his life, he was starting to really believe in Levi's words.

And so Eren leaned back in his seat, smile still on his face, and let Levi take him to the beach.

* * *

 

"Look, look, look! Levi, look!"

"My god Eren, I'm standing right next to you; stop yelling in my ear."

Levi eyed the railing of the boat with trepidation. There was no telling what little kid's hands had been grabbing at the metal bars, and the water that was spraying up against the boat didn't look all that clean to him.

And yet, here he was, holding on tightly to said railing, because Eren's hand was covering his own, both wrapped around the cold, rusted metal that bit into his palm. The cool ocean water splashed alongside the boat, mist from the impact floating up to brush along their exposed arms and settling gently on the fabric of his jeans. Mere inches away from them, sleek grey dolphins leapt alongside the boat, so close that Levi was sure if he leaned out, he could graze their skin with his fingertips.

He had to admit, watching dolphins swimming alongside their boat with Eren holding his hand tightly was something out of a dream for him.

Speaking of Eren, the boy looked like he'd completely forgotten about the incident from earlier, his eyes wide and glistening, like a child who was just given a year's supply of his favorite candy. The ocean breeze pulled his hair back and forth and tugged his tank so that it was flush against his torso, showing off each dip of his toned body nicely. Levi suddenly wished he were wearing something more revealing than a button down.

"Don't be such a grouch, Levi," Eren laughed, turning to face him. "Look at where we are. Ocean as far as the eye can see, the wind blowing by you like you're flying. Screw Disney World. _This_ is the real happiest place on earth."

Levi snorted, but didn't argue as he turned his gaze back over the expanse of water surrounding them. "Oi, when we get back to shore, do you want to go to the amusement park?"

"I mean, yeah, I do, but what do you want to do, Levi? You said this was supposed to be a date right?" Eren flashed him a grin (sunglasses! Why didn’t Levi bring his sunglasses?!). "We did what I want, what's next on your list?"

"Tch. I don’t know what's around here; I didn't even think we were coming today. You're the one who loves this place so much; I just wanted to spend time with you."

Wait, did he just say that out loud? Levi buried his face in his free hand. Damn, this ocean air was getting to him and making him say weird things.

He was so busy face-palming he missed the raging blush that had appeared on Eren's face. Eren had to turn away as his heart sped up; he hadn't had a feeling like this about someone since…

"I think we're turning back," Levi said, interrupting Eren's train of thought. "How far is the park from the dock?"

"Not that far; we can walk on the beach."

Levi glared. "And get sand stuffed into our shoes?"

"We'll get flip flops!" Eren leaned his head on his free arm against the railing, turning so that he was looking up at Levi. "C'mon, we can't be at a beach and not go on the sand, old man."

"I don't do flip flops."

Eren rolled his eyes. "Fine. Get sand in your shoes then."

"God it's like I’m with a twelve year old."

"Levi, you don't want to get sand in your shoes, but you want to get to the amusement park. You gotta pick one or the other. Otherwise, I'm going to have to carry you across the beach."

Levi nearly choked. That was the closest Eren had ever gotten to potentially being flirtatious with him. Or maybe he was thinking too much into things. Damn this ocean air!

Eren laughed and turned to look back at the rippling waters. "I'm kidding, jeez. We don't have to walk to the park; we can just drive there. It'll be faster anyway."

Fuck, Levi wanted to kick himself. Was he really about to turn down a potentially romantic walk along the beach with Eren just because he was afraid of a little sand in his shoes? Alright, if he was being honest, he knew the real reason behind him not wanting to walk along the beach (the same reason he was worried about taking Eren here in the first place), but was it worth the risk if it meant Eren might be in the mood to be open with him?

The longing look in Eren's eyes as he gazed at the beachy dunes that lined the shore was answer enough for him.

"No, we can walk on the beach. Getting out of that parking lot is going to be a bitch and a half. Besides, what's the point in going to a beach town without actually being on the beach?" Levi said, leaning his forearms against the railing.

Eren turned back to look at him, his eyes peeking out from behind the crook of his arm. "Are you sure?"

"Fuck, why not? Better brace yourself, brat. I'm going to make this the best date you've ever been on."

Eren stood up straight, a shy, happy grin on his face. "Hm…I'll be the judge of that. Give me your best shot."

It was the closest thing to an acceptance of his advances Levi had ever gotten. Suddenly this venture went from impulsive, just-get-Eren-out-of-his-situation, to oh-shit-now-there-are-stakes-involved-and-I-can't-fuck-this-up. Damn it, why hadn't Levi just looked up the beach and planned the date before he'd originally asked Eren out? Now he was making promises he wasn't sure he could keep.

Wait, what was he saying? He was Levi Fucking Ackerman. He'd face bigger challenges than a date with one Eren Jäger.

The boat pulled back into the dock and Eren finally removed his hand that had been covering Levi's. It was only at that moment that Levi realized that Eren had been holding his hand this entire time. Considering how he normally would have reacted to skin-on-skin contact with Eren, he wondered when he'd become so comfortable with Eren that having their hands touching had become so natural he barely noticed it.

Humming contentedly, he followed Eren off the boat toward the souvenir shop at the entrance of the dock.

"Hey Levi, these would be perfect for you!" Eren yelled from across the store. He held up a pair of flip flops that boasted a large picture of a grumpy looking cat that was actually frowning.

"Gross, Eren. Why?"

"Oh c'mon! It's grumpy cat! You both have the same expressions!"

Levi scowled in an attempt to hide a smile, but that only seemed to encourage Eren.

"See?! There's the face! Now all you need are cat ears and this picture would literally be a replica of you!" Eren grinned, a hint of mischief glinting in his eyes.

"Well fuck you very much too," Levi retorted, ignoring the protesting noises a few customers made at his language.

"I’m buying these for you," Eren declared. "Oh I hope they have matching swim trunks!"

"Eren, I'm not wearing swim trunks with cats plastered all over my crotch."

"Hm…what if I find one with just a giant cat face plastered on your ass instead?"

"No cats."

Eren laughed as he perused the racks of swim trunks and towels. He added to his pile a pair of light blue swim trunks ("it matches grumpy cat's eyes!"), dinosaur flip flops, and a pair of black shorts. Levi just let Eren do what he wanted as he tried to look up more information about the amusement park on his phone.

"Ok, time to change!" Eren announced, suddenly appearing before him with a plastic bag. "You _have_ to put on everything that's in the bag."

Levi accepted the bag cautiously, eyes narrowing as he opened it.

Eren quickly grabbed his hands and shut the bag. "Uh-uh. You gotta promise me now that you'll put everything on before you can see what's in it."

"Fine. I'll put everything on."

Eren's eyes lit up and a mischievous grin crossed his face. "Perfect." Without waiting for an answer, he steered Levi into a changing room. "I'll be out here waiting."

When the door was securely shut behind him, Levi looked into the bag. There, were the flip flops and shorts he'd seen Eren pick out earlier, along with…Levi scowled as he pulled out an oversized, galaxy-printed shirt plastered with cats, and a bunch of mismatched shells strung up into a necklace.

"Oh _HELL_ no, Eren!" Levi yelled, stuffing the items back into the bag. "I don't know how the hell you found these things but there is NO way I'm wearing this!" He tried to open the door, only to find that the handle wouldn't move. "Open the door, Eren!"

"Not until you wear that!"

"Uh-uh! Absolutely not!"

"But you promised! I thought you were the type of guy who never went back on his word?"

That stopped Levi in his tracks. Was Eren testing him? Maybe there was more to this than Eren just being a brat; maybe this was his way of testing how true to his words he really was.

Ok, he might be thinking into things way too much now.

Regardless, he was quite sure Eren would actually refuse to let him out unless he'd changed, and he was certain the shop owner would not take kindly to a kicked-in door. So he reluctantly unbuttoned his jeans and started changing.

"Alright, I changed," Levi called out as he stuffed his own clothes into the plastic bag.

"Pics or it's not true!" Eren's voice retorted form the other side.

"What does that even mean?"

"Take a selfie!"

"…Eren. I put on a fucking Galaxy cat shirt for you already. I will _not_ , and I mean I _will fucking not_ take a selfie!"

A bark of laughter took him by surprise as the door opened. Eren was standing there, somehow already changed into his dinosaur flip flops and black shorts, and was wearing a matching cat-plastered galaxy shirt and shell necklace. "My, I must say you have fine taste in clothing."

"Tch. Hilarious. Can we please leave before anyone sees us?"

Without waiting for a reply, Levi grabbed Eren's arm and dragged the taller boy out of the store. Behind him, he could hear Eren snickering. Despite his complete and utter embarrassment from wearing such an atrocious outfit, he was quite pleased with the effect this date was having on Eren's mood so far.

They were solidly on the beach before Levi stopped and let go of Eren's arm.

"Alright, where to?" Levi asked.

"Weren't you going to make this the best date I've ever had? That's up to you, old man." Eren's eyes were glued on the glistening waves that were ebbing up the sandy dunes. The light reflecting off the water gave life to the words 'ocean sparkle', and the outline of yachts and speedboats drifted in and out of the horizon line, the only break to an otherwise endless blue expanse.

"Fine. I’m going to pick a direction, and if it's the wrong way, don't bitch about not being able to go on the Ferris Wheel then." Levi started flopping along the sand, wincing as every step in his damn flip flops sent a spray of sand up the back of his legs.

Eren hid a smile behind his hand as he watched Levi struggle along the rolling sand. He had to admit, this entire situation had certainly put him in a better mood, and he truly appreciated the effort Levi was putting into this. As much as he had been resisting this entire situation at first, the more time he spent with Levi, the more he realized that maybe, just maybe, Levi was telling him the truth about loving him.

Over the last few weeks, he had really begun to notice how natural, how comfortable it was to have Levi around. When he and Jean had been living together, there had been an innate sense of 'his things' and 'Jean's things'. With Levi, however, there was no separation. The line between 'Eren's place' and 'our place' had been blurred within a week of living together, and the thought of Levi not being around was stranger than its counterpart.

Besides, the man was a phenomenal cook.

Levi's cursing caught Eren's attention and he looked up in time to see the raven yank his foot out of the sand to shake it off, and nearly topple over.

"Jesus Levi, you'd think that you've never been to the beach or something." Eren walked over to help the shorter man regain his balance.

"That's because I haven't," Levi retorted, crossing his arms as he turned to face Eren.

"…what? You've never been to the beach? In your 35 years, you've never once been to the beach?!"

"First of all, I’m 32, you shit. Second, no, I have not. I don't relish the thought of having bits and pieces of sand stuck to every crevice of my body."

"Well that's what going into the ocean is for! Just jump in and wash it all off!"

At that, Levi scowled and looked away. He mumbled something under his breath.

Eren rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad. You know there's probably more pee in a pool than the ocean when you look at the overall picture, right? C'mon." He reached to take Levi's hand (noting just how well defined even the man's hands were) and started pulling him toward the ocean.

"What are you doing?"

"You wanna get that sand off right? Just jump in!"

Levi dug his heels into the ground, jerking Eren to a halt. "No, no, that's okay."

"Oh come on, we can't spend time at the beach and not go into the ocean! It's the perfect day!"

"Eren, it's not that, I just—"

"It'll be fun, I promise! You've made it this far already!"

"Eren, I can't swim."

Eren stopped pulling at Levi's hands. He blinked, then frowned. "How—what—Did you just—Wait, can you be a firefighter if you can't swim?"

"That's what you're worried about?"

"Well I have other questions, but I mean what if you need to pull someone out of a sinking car or something?"

"First of all, that kind of thing is so rare, we don't really have to worry about it. And I've got my squad; I'm exceptionally good at my job on land, several of them specialize in water rescues. We make it work."

His words were met with a pregnant pause as Eren stared at him, a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly, he broke out in a grin. "You know what this means then, right?" His grin grew. "I'm gonna teach you how to swim."

Levi took an involuntary step back. "In the ocean?!"

"No, not today!" Eren laughed. "Some other time. We don't have to go into the ocean today. It's no fun if I go in by myself; we'll just have to come back when you know how to swim."

A blush raged across Levi's face, and as Eren watched him bite his lower lip in embarrassment, he couldn't help but think that Levi looked positively adorable. It struck him as incredibly cute that despite his perfection in nearly every other aspect (Come on, the man was a firefighter and a cook, and had the meanest right hook Eren had ever seen), Levi had never been able to swim.

It was such a small flaw, but it made Levi seem all that much more perfect.

"Alright then, Mr. Fireman. Let's get back to where we were. Still no Ferris Wheel in sight, you know."

"Tch. Is this your subtle way of telling me I'm going the wrong direction?" And with that, Levi had regained his composure and returned to his snarky, sarcastic self.

"No, I'm just saying I don't see a Ferris Wheel."

"Cheeky brat." Levi held out his hand. "Well, come on."

This time, Eren didn't hesitate to reach forward and intertwine his fingers with Levi's.

The two ambled along the beach, just out of reach of the oscillating waves. Neither of them said a word, but it was a content silence, one that they could enjoy together. As they walked further and further, Levi began hearing the sounds of cheesy carnival music, the muffled roars of roller coasters, and the faint screeches of children. Clearly they were approaching the amusement park.

"How well do you do with roller coasters?" Eren suddenly asked. "Or at least the rides you meet the height requirements for?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Hilarious. I can ride roller coasters, I just don't like them because you never know what might've been thrown up on one of the seats."

"So you're more of a Merry-Go-Round person?"

"Yes, actually."

"That's so cute."

Levi's eyes snapped up to Eren's face, which was quickly turning red. His eyes were wide, lips slightly parted in shock. "Oh my god did I say that out loud?" He rubbed his forehead with his free hand with a groan.

Levi smirked. "And the truth comes out. Tell me, Eren. How long have you had feelings for me?"

"Keep dreaming, old man," Eren mumbled, face still red. However, his words held no malice in them, and maybe it was Levi's imagination, but he was pretty sure he sounded a little defensive. Levi couldn't help but wonder just how much the relationship between the two of them had changed since their marriage had started.

He'd always known Eren was attracted to him, but he wasn't entirely sure how their dynamic had changed since the night of the fire. His own feelings toward Eren had never changed. In fact, the more he learned about him, the more he fell in love with him.

That being said, there seemed to be something about Eren now that was just straight up resisting his intentions, but he couldn't quite place what it was. It almost seemed like Eren was convinced that whatever Levi was telling him about how he felt were just a means to an end. What really baffled him was just how long and how strongly Eren was convinced of that.

His train of thought was broken when the outline of a Ferris wheel came into view before them.

"Good job, you picked the right direction to walk." Eren had clearly gotten over his embarrassment from earlier as he grinned down at Levi. His eyes were dancing with excitement as they approached the amusement park.

"Are we seriously going in looking like this?" Levi hadn't forgotten the atrocious shirts they were wearing.

"Obviously. We'll have to take a picture to commemorate this monumental event."

"Of course you're not satisfied with just forcing me to wear this. You need bribery material as well?"

"Tell you what. We can change back, but only if you allow me to take a snapchat of us to send to Hanji."

Levi didn't know what a snapchat was, but he was sure he didn't want Hanji to ever see evidence of him wearing this shirt. "Counter offer. I'll wear this shirt the whole damn day, even take a picture with you, if you promise to never, EVER, let shitty glasses know that I was wearing a galaxy cat shirt."

Eren grinned. "Deal."

* * *

 

It turned out Eren wasn't satisfied with just one picture of them. Levi stared in amazement as Eren bought a fifth souvenir photo of the two of them on a log chute water ride. He'd been able to hold his shit together for most of the roller coasters so far, but the combination of dropping from fifty feet and being surrounded by water had made Levi completely lose his composure for this last picture.

When Eren had seen the photo –both their shirts were flying up behind them, and Levi was clutching the back of the seat. His normally narrowed eyes were wide with terror, his bangs flew up from his face to show the entirety of his undercut–he had nearly fallen over from laughter.

And now he was babbling about framing the picture for their living room.

"Eren, I swear to god if you frame this photo, I'll never cook for you again." Levi wanted nothing more than to rip the print from Eren's hands and throw it into the ocean.

"But Leviiiii!" Eren was giving him a shit-eating grin. "It's such a wonderful photo!"

"Fuck you. That ride was fucking terrifying for someone who doesn't know how to swim. And now my ass is wet and I'm soaked. Don't fuck with me right now."

Eren dug out his tank top from his bag. "Here, wear this then."

"What?"

"I'm releasing you from the galaxy cat prison," Eren smiled, his eyes soft and fond as he looked at Levi. "I’m good with the pictures, so dry off and change back. Although you probably don't want to wear your nice dress shirt, so take this instead."

Levi wordlessly accepted the clothing and went to go change.

It wasn't until he was in the bathroom that his brain went into overdrive again. He pulled on Eren's tank-which was far too long for him and went well past his ass-and his jeans and stared at himself in the mirror.

Eren was being incredibly sweet to him through this entire thing, always making sure he was having fun, asking him what he wanted to do, and now this whole thing with the shirt (although he’d never openly admit it, he was thrilled to be wearing Eren’s oversized clothing). Earlier, when they were getting food, Eren even made sure the server at the food stand washed his hands and wore fresh, clean gloves before handling Levi's food.

If anything, it felt like he was the one being taken on a date, which did not sit entirely well with him. Well fuck it, it was time for him to take charge.

He walked out to see Eren standing outside, wringing out their shirts.

Which, of course, meant he was standing there, shirtless, glistening in the rays of the sun. His hair was still damp, plastered messily along his forehead, and when he turned to look at Levi, Levi could make out droplets of water hanging precariously on the tips of his eyelashes.

“Put your shirt back on,” Levi demanded, walking over to grab the shirt that Eren was wringing out.

“Hang on! I’m trying to dry it!”

“Well do it faster. Do you even know how attractive you look right now? Cover yourself up before I do something stupid.”

Eren gaped at him. Never had anyone been so forward, so bluntly honest as Levi was just now. He knew his will to terminate this marriage at the end of 60 days was already beginning to crumble, and even throughout this date, he’d seen so many sides of Levi that he never knew existed. He knew Levi was going way outside his comfort zone, just to try and cheer him up after the events of this morning, and that was just so incredibly sweet, so incredibly kind, that Eren knew it wouldn’t take much more for him to completely give in to him.

But _then_ Levi had to step out wearing his tank top (which looked way too good on him and showed off his well-defined shoulders and arms so enticingly), and Eren could no longer deny just how strong of an attraction he had to the older man. And to top that off, Levi then went and said something so earnest, taking his own feelings into consideration…

Eren didn’t even realize what he was doing until he’d reach over, pulled him close, and then his lips met Levi’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this new installment! I originally had Eren and Jean’s past included, but the chapter became too long, and there wasn’t enough progress yet and I wanted more cuteness, so I cut a large chunk for the next chapter, sorry!
> 
> I really hope this chapter lived up to your expectations, please let me know what you think!
> 
> Also-look forward to a coffee shop AU one shot soon, hopefully!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> _PS-WHO HAS READ THE NEW CHAPTER SPOILERS?? ERMERGERD I FEEL SO BAD FOR EREN; MY BOY JUST CAN’T CATCH A FREAKING BREAK! IS ASKING TO CUT HIM SOME SLACK TOO MUCH, ISAYAMA?? HANG IN THERE, EREN!!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey…Sorry this chapter is so late coming out. I got into a car accident this past month and got a concussion, so it's been a super big struggle writing anything. But, I’m alive and I managed to finish this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it- ** _please read the end notes._**

Levi couldn't move. Couldn't think, couldn't breathe.

Ok, so the last one might be because his mouth was otherwise preoccupied, and he'd seemed to have temporarily forgotten that he had a nose. Nonetheless, he didn't think his brain was capable of commanding his body to do anything other than to melt into Eren at the moment.

The kiss had started off hesitant; just a light brushing of their lips. When Levi didn't move (again more out of shock than anything else), Eren became bolder, pressing his lips firmly against Levi's, slotting his bottom lip between his.

When Levi finally regained some control over his body (and started breathing again), he opened his mouth a bit to take Eren's bottom lip between his teeth.

Eren’s lips were a little chapped from the salty winds, but Levi didn't care. He gently ran his tongue over them, mentally mapping every crevice, tasting every chapped divot. He was only vaguely aware of Eren's hands, which had come up to cup his face when he'd pulled him close. He gave a small, playful nibble and sucked, smiling when he heard a soft moan emit from the back of Eren's throat.

Just as suddenly as it had started, the kiss stopped. Eren pulled away, his hands still cupping Levi's face, heterochromatic eyes blazing with a look Levi had never seen in them before.

Then his eyes widened and his mouth parted in shock. "Uh…oh my god. I'm so so—"

"Eren I swear to god if you apologize for kissing me I'm going to shove you into a cactus."

Eren blinked, and promptly burst out laughing. "There aren't any cacti here though."

"Fine. An extra prickly bush, then. But don't you dare say you're sorry. I've been waiting for you to do that since the day I married you."

Eren's face turned pink, but a tiny hint of a smile stayed on his lips. His hands dropped from Levi's face, and he took a small step back. That look was back in his eyes, but this time, Levi saw something in them he wasn't sure he liked-hesitation? Regret? Uncertainty?

"It's not that I…I'm not apologizing for the kiss. Well I kind of am, but not the actual act of kissing you. I mean…" His face turned even redder.

"Eren, just stop while you're ahead. You don't have to explain yourself. I get it, it's been one heck of a day for you, and we don't have to do any more than what has just transpired."

Eren carded his fingers through his hair. "Damn it, you can't say stuff like that, Levi."

"Why not?"

Eren stared at the shorter man, the words ' _because it's only going to make me like you more_ ' on the tip of his tongue. But he couldn't admit that yet. Not aloud. Not yet.

"You just can't, okay?" Eren huffed. He turned away, his hand trailing from his hair to the back of his neck. He walked over to where he'd dropped his cat shirt and shook the dirt from it.

It wasn't that he meant to be wishy-washy about the whole thing. At this point he could no longer deny it-the emotions he held towards Levi were more than just a simple attraction. If even Mikasa had noticed a change in his demeanor, then there could be no denying that Levi’s presence in his life was affecting him, and not in a negative way. That being said, he just wasn't sure if he was ready to open himself up to these kinds of feelings yet …

"Oi, Eren."

Eren turned back toward Levi, who was beckoning to him.

"I think it's almost time to ride the Ferris wheel."

"What?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "The Ferris wheel, dumbass. Isn't that the main reason we came here? We probably have time for one more ride, but if we time it right, we can catch the sunset on the Ferris wheel." He frowned. "Which is something I don't think I've ever taken into consideration before."

"What, have you never taken anyone on a date before?"

"Of course I have. Just never been on a date with anyone who merited this kind of thinking."

"Oh." Eren felt his blush make a comeback on his cheeks.

Levi started down the path that led toward the looming ride in the distance and beckoned to him. "So come on."

The two of them made their way through the fairgrounds, neither of them saying anything, their fingers just brushing each other’s as they navigated the crowds of people. Eren was thankful for the silence. He had a lot to consider at the moment.

He knew Levi deserved to know the truth, that it wasn't because of him that Eren was having trouble accepting his feelings. However, the wound that was his breakup with Jean was still incredibly raw, even after three months, and telling Levi would mean that he was revealing his darkest insecurity to the man.

The kiss was a spur of the moment thing, something Eren regretted not because he had kissed Levi, but because it had stirred up feelings that he wasn't ready to experience again. It reminded him too much of what was at stake, brought back far too many memories that he wasn't ready to face.

And if he was being honest, even after everything that had happened today, Eren was still reluctant to believe that Levi was truly doing all of this out of the goodness of his heart. Sure, his words seemed genuine enough. And sure, this seemed like a lot of effort if all Levi was looking for was sex, but the same could be said about a three-year long relationship.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he nearly knocked over Levi, who had come to an abrupt stop. The shorter man looked up at him, eyes narrowed.

"You've been quiet for a while now. Something is clearly on your mind. I mean you didn't even say anything when that kid ran by you with a giant stuffed dinosaur."

"Wait, there are giant stuffed dinosaurs here?!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "My point exactly."

Eren sighed. "Sorry, I'm not trying to ignore you or anything. I'm just…"

"Eren. Nothing has to change because of the kiss if you don't want it to." Levi stepped close to Eren and took one of his hands. "I don't want to pretend it didn't happen, but this thing, or whatever it is, we have between the two of us right now—" he waggled his finger between their chests, "—doesn’t have to change."

Again, Eren was stunned into silence. How could Levi be so nice? …No, people just weren't this nice without having an ulterior motive. He felt a frown forming on his face. No one just does a 180 from pushing themselves with no regards for the other party's feelings to this kind of behavior.

He pulled his hand from Levi's and took a step back.

Levi felt a frown of his own start. He recognized that look in Eren's eyes. It was that same strange mixture of confusion and doubt from several weeks ago when he'd accused him of lying about his feelings, one that he'd seen Eren wear several times throughout this day. What on earth was going through the guy's mind?

It was frustrating that no matter what he said, Eren always seemed to take his words with a grain of salt. He'd seemed so happy, so carefree earlier, that Levi was sure they were making progress; that they were establishing some bond of trust or something. But now, seeing that old look return to Eren's eyes, Levi realized that there was something deeply seated in Eren, something that had changed the young man from the person Levi had known five years ago.

"Eren—"

"Levi, I’m sorry." Eren carded his fingers through his hair. "There's just…there are a lot of things you need to know. I'm just…I don't know it I'm ready."

"That's fine," Levi said quickly. "I've already figured there's something that you haven’t been able to say yet, and you have no obligation to tell me. But today, can you allow yourself to simply enjoy the beach and forget about everything else?"

Eren opened his mouth to respond, but Levi covered his mouth and barreled on. "All I'm asking for, Eren, is that just for today, you only look at me and only think of me. It's a selfish request, I know. But just for today, alright?"

Eren was still for a long time. Then he reached up and removed Levi's hands from his mouth. "Yeah. I'm sorry I'm ruining what's been almost the perfect day." He tried to give Levi an apologetic smile, but he just looked defeated. "I just don't even know what I'm feeling anymore. Today was my first time seeing Jean since the breakup. I want to just let loose and have fun, but seeing him again…"

He glanced at the outline of the Ferris wheel in the distance. "Sorry—"

"Stop apologizing." Levi cut him off. "You don't have to apologize for how you feel. Again, I get it; I may be terrible at feelings, but even I picked up that whatever went down between the two of you is something that you need to work up the nerve to face. I also get that seeing an ex after several months isn't something that you can just brush off."

Levi folded his arms over his chest and gave Eren the cockiest smirk he could muster. "But, I told you I was going to make this the best date you've ever had, remember? Unfortunately my date plans don't involve reminiscing over asshole ex's." He was taking a gamble with this and he knew it. But he needed to take Eren's mind off of whatever it was that was bothering him, and if that meant putting aside his own feelings of hurt and change the topic completely, then that's what he was going to do.

His gamble paid off.

The change of subject allowed Eren to compose himself, and the confident, carefree mask he'd apparently been wearing all day slid back into place. "Did you expect me to just submit to your plans?"

"Of course not." Levi turned and started down the road, continuing their previous journey toward the Ferris wheel. He glanced over his shoulder and gave Eren a grin. "After all, you're Eren fucking Jäger, aren't you?"

Eren snorted and jogged to catch up to him.

By this time, the sun had finally started making is way down the sky, although it couldn't be classified as a sunset yet.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at the situation), Eren got distracted by another roller coaster ride and they took another high speed (although galaxy-cat-shirt-free) ride that made Levi swear off ever going to an amusement park again.

"Damn, I know I said I was done buying photos, but your expression is gold in this one too." Eren chortled as Levi dragged him away from the photo viewing station.

"Very funny. You already have the cursed one from that stupid water ride, it's so much worse than this one." Levi growled, although he couldn't be truly angry. "Now come on, if the line for the Ferris wheel is anything like the one for this ride, we'll be here till midnight."

"You're such a drama queen, Levi."

"Tch. This coming from the guy who insisted he would simply _die_ if he didn't get the chocolate dipped waffle cone with sprinkles earlier?"

"But I would have! Just thinking about eating ice cream in a non-chocolate, non-sprinkled cone is giving me goosebumps!"

Levi snorted. He turned and flicked Eren lightly on the forehead. "Brat."

Eren grinned down at him, one hand covering the pink spot on his forehead.

They reached the line for the Ferris Wheel (which thankfully was _not_ as long as the other ride) and Eren clapped his hands together, eyes glowing in the angled rays of the setting sun. He grinned, showing all his teeth. "I haven't been on this Ferris Wheel in years. I still remember the first time Mikasa, Armin and I were allowed to go into one of the cabins by ourselves. We ran around the cabin so much they had to stop the ride to yell at us."

"Really? I can see you doing that. But Mikasa and Armin?"

"Armin is secretly a little shit. He's such a crafty bastard. And Mikasa would never admit it, but she's one of the girliest girls I know. Sure, she boxes and has this whole cold ice queen exterior, but you should see her room. More stuffed bears than you can count. Her favorite color is red, but I know she's also partial to baby blues and pink hues. So a Ferris Wheel ride is right up her alley."

"Speaking of favorite colors, what's yours?" Levi realized that after all this time, he still didn't know.

"Hm…I'm not sure if I have a _favorite_ , per say. I'm a fan of blues and yellows, usually the more vibrant the better." Eren looked up and grinned. "They remind me of the sky, and I've always loved clear sunny days where I can just lay down and stare at the sky. I feel like there's a sense of freedom up there." He held a hand up, fingers splayed out like he was reaching for something.

Levi was a little taken aback by the answer. He hadn't expected Eren to reveal so much about himself just with a simple question about his favorite color.

"What's your favorite color, Levi? You seem like the type of guy who likes black or grey or something."

"Tch. First, there is nothing wrong with the color black or grey. Second, my favorite color is green."

Eren blinked. "Green?" He honestly never expected that. If Levi didn't like black, he would've pegged him as a dark red or purple kind of guy.

"Yes, green. I have no idea why. I've always just liked it."

"What, like instinctively?!"

"That's one way to put it." Levi rolled his eyes. "Sometimes things just feel right, and liking green was one of those things."

Eren didn't get a chance to respond to that, because the next cabin had pulled up to the platform, and the girl at the gate was waving the two of them up. He hesitated as Levi started up the stairs to the platform. Then he took a deep breath and started up the stairs behind the shorter man. He stopped at the threshold of the cab, his heart pounding, but his mind made up. His hands felt clammy as he turned and slipped a twenty into the operator's hand.

The girl raised an eyebrow, and Eren pointed to the pinnacle of the Ferris Wheel. "An extra twenty minutes up there would be appreciated."

She smiled and cast a sly glance in Levi's direction before giving him a thumbs-up.

Eren groaned inwardly. She probably had the wrong idea, but as long as he got the extra time, he didn't really care at the moment. He stepped into the cabin and sat across from Levi, who raised and eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.

The girl closed the door with an 'enjoy your ride!' and a wink in Eren's direction.

As the cabin started moving, Eren glanced out towards the horizon. The sun had just barely grazed the top of the water, the sky just starting to coalesce into a psychedelic amalgamation of blues, pinks and purples. They moved higher and higher at a painstakingly slow pace, the noise from the crowd below gradual fading into a dull drone.

The higher they got, the more nervous Eren felt. Levi hadn't said a word to him yet; he was just staring at the horizon, chin resting on his palm. The vibrant colors of the sky cast warm highlights across his face, giving him an almost eerie glow. He was clearly so deep in thought, Eren felt bad for interrupting him. But he'd asked for those extra minutes for a reason, and he was going to need every second available.

He took a deep breath and started talking.

"My second full time clinical was with an ortho clinic that worked closely with the Philadelphia Union soccer team," Eren's voice was shaky, almost raspy. Levi blinked and looked over at the boy, who now had his gaze fixed determinedly toward the ocean. "We did screening and sports assessments for the team. I didn't know much about soccer, so a classmate of mine introduced me to her friend, who was a soccer fanatic. That's how I first met Jean."

Levi stayed quiet as Eren hesitated to gather his thoughts.

"At first we didn't get along at all; we constantly debated over team dynamics and play, until one day we realized that the arguments, the debating, sometimes even roughhousing had accumulated into a crazy ball of sexual attraction and tension. It didn't take long after that for our friendship to reach the next level."

Despite knowing this was going to be part of learning about Eren's past, Levi's stomach still clenched unpleasantly.

"Fast forward to my last internship, the clinic I was working at happened to be treating the coach of the Union's team, who recognized me from the screening all those months ago. He offered me a weekend job as an athletic trainer, saying he was hoping to be able to fund a full-time physical therapist for the team. Of course, Jean was ecstatic for me, saying it was the opportunity of a lifetime. I just didn't realize he'd meant it was the opportunity of a lifetime for himself." Eren's tone turned bitter, his fist clenching in his lap, his other hand gripping his key so tightly he felt the bit of the key dig deep enough to hit his carpal bones.

"Over the next few months, Jean would conveniently 'drop by' to visit me while I was working, gradually spending more time with the players, with the coach, until one day, the coach agreed to see him play for a try out. After a few more trials, Jean officially became a player for the Union. Of course I was happy for him; proud, even. But I didn't put two and two together at the time because I had just been offered a job at a private clinic and was making the transition to working there full time but staying at the team's AT for weekends."

"During my time with the team, one of the strength and conditioning coaches, his name is Reiner, and I had become really good friends because it turned out he knew Annie. Well about 4 months ago, he told me he needed to talk to me. At this point, Jean and I had been together for nearly 3 years. Things were going well, and he'd even dropped hints about getting married soon…" Eren trailed off, his tone still bitter, but now softened with undertones of sadness.

Part of Levi wanted Eren to stop. That part of him wanted to tell Eren to shut up, take the boy in his arms and kiss him until he was out of breath and thinking about nothing but Levi. He also knew, however, that this might be a one-time opportunity; Eren was willingly opening up to him about his past, and he had a feeling if he interrupted, Eren wouldn't be able to finish.

So Levi continued to stay silent, eyes fixed on Eren, who was gnawing on his bottom lip, eyes glazed.

Finally, Eren continued. "Well it turned out Reiner wanted to talk to me because he'd overheard some locker room talk between Jean an a few team members. Apparently one of the new members who didn't know Jean and I were in a relationship had…had mentioned that he'd like to fuck me. And Jean…"

Eren's face turned a violent shade of red. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. The hurt was evident in his voice when he resumed. "Jean offered to let the guy fuck me since…since he'd always wanted to see if I could take two dicks up the ass." Eren leaned back in his seat and covered his eyes with his hands, his voice cracking. "Apparently they then started talking very graphically about things they would like to do to me, I'm not even going to repeat some of the stuff, it was just awful."

Levi felt his eyes widen. His fists were clenched so hard he was sure he was going to draw blood. Suddenly, he understood the phrase 'seeing red.' "Wh—that—how—?"

Eren peeked between his fingers, meeting Levi's gaze for the first time since he'd started, a bitter smile on his face. "We were together for almost 3 years, Levi. I was so stupid for not seeing the signs."

"No, Eren –fuck– you can't blame yourself for not seeing this." Levi didn't know what to say. Of all the things he had imagined to have gone down between the two of them, he never would have imagined something this heinous. No wonder Eren was still holding him at an arm's length. "I'm so sorry, Eren. I can't believe—that's unacceptable. I…What happened afterwards?"

Eren sighed. "I confronted him about it. At first he denied that it happened, tried to turn it into a misunderstanding or something. But eventually he had to drop the act and told me that he'd only stayed with me because of my connections to the team and because…because I was a good fuck. In fact, he said the only regret out of all of this was that he wasn't able to give the team a chance to bang me while he watched."

"I'm going to kill him. Fuck." Levi leaned back and rubbed his temples. "Shit, I should've punched him harder. I can't…I just can't believe someone could do that to you."

Eren shrugged. "It's over. It's done. It's alright."

"Fuck no it's not. Eren, no one deserves to be treated like that, least of all you."

Eren blinked. His brows slowly came together into a slight frown and he bit the corner of his lip, that look back on his face. Levi had had enough of that.

"Is that why you asked me if I was in this just for a good fuck? Is that why every time I tell you I love you, you don't believe me? Is that why you look so goddamn surprised anytime someone stands up for you?"

A raging blush replaced the look of surprise on Eren's face and he looked away. "That's…not…"

"The hell it's not." Levi leaned forward to cover one of Eren's hands with his own. "Eren. Jean Kirstein is a horrible person who had _no right_ to ever say or do those things to you. This kind of feeling won't go away just because I'm saying this; I'm sure your friends have told you the same thing. But Eren—"

Levi moved to kneel on the floor of the cabin (he suddenly realized they had been stopped at the top for a while now). His other hand came up to cup Eren's face toward him. "Eren, I will never do anything to hurt you. I know I’ve said this a million times: I'm stupid when it comes to romance and sometimes I come off as crass and rude. But I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you."

Eren stared down at Levi, his eyes bright with unshed tears, then pulled back away from Levi's touch. He squeezed his eyes shut, teeth clenched.

"I—Levi, that's why I can't do this right now. I'm sorry. I'm not ready."

His words hit Levi like a ton of bricks. Of course Eren wouldn't be ready to start a new relationship after all that. No wonder the boy had been so suspicious when everything first started, no wonder he seemed to resist every declaration Levi had ever made. What happened to him wasn't a thing to get over quickly, and frankly, now that Levi knew the truth, he was surprised Eren had even made it this far in the marriage.

"Eren." Levi's voice was low, but firm. Eren didn't respond. "Eren, please look at me."

Eren shook his head, his breath ragged and hitched.

Levi leaned forward to gently caress his cheek. He was feeling so many emotions it took every ounce of his willpower to keep his hand from shaking. But right now, he knew he had to keep his anger in check; that was the last thing Eren needed. He desperately wished he knew how to fix things, but trying to find the right words to say right now was like trying to scoop water with a sifter.

So instead, he knelt up and placed a tentative, soft kiss to Eren's cheek. "Eren, please. I'm so sorry. Nothing I can say or do will ever undo what happened to you, but I need you to know that I love you."

Eren suddenly grabbed his wrists and pushed him away. Even though he was clearly holding back tears, his gaze was defiant when he locked eyes with Levi. The sun was now halfway consumed by the waters, the angle of the light casting dark shadows over Eren's features. "That's the other thing! Why?"

"Why what?"

"What on earth could you love about me? We don't see each other for five years and you just out of the blue declare that you're in love with me? We get married when I'm drunk and incoherent, and then you refuse to get an annulment because you love me? On what grounds?" Eren felt like he was unable to stop at this point. Everything he'd ever wondered, every little doubt he'd had was bubbling to the surface. "I just can't see how we could have gone from the dynamic we had in the office to this point with that long of a gap between us. Just because you say you love me can't mean anything to me right now, I'm sorry."

Levi stared up at Eren, thinking hard and fast. He had to choose his words carefully. "In all honesty…I don't think I realized how I felt until I finally saw you again." He pulled his wrists out from Eren's grasp. "You know how they say you don't know what you have until it's gone? Well it was the opposite for me. I realized the feelings I had for you when I found you again."

He sat back on his heels, but Eren remained silent and let him continue. "I don't know when my initial attraction for you turned into something more. All I know is that I somehow went from 'I'm never going to be able to stand this kid' to realizing all the things you did that challenged and changed my initial impression of you. Initially, I fell in love with your tenacity, I fell in love with your determination, and I fell in love with your kindness. Like I said, when I saw you again, my intuition told me that I had to do something. I never would have imagined prior to all this that the 'something' I would do was marry you, but when it happened, it felt so right that I couldn't bring myself to let you go."

"I don't even fully understand this myself. There's a reason shitty glasses calls me 'romantically constipated.' I guess I didn't know how to express my emotions so I ended up doing something drastic." Levi got to his feet and returned to his seat. "But one thing I do know, is that this month has shown me how much you've changed from the person I'd known. Despite all that—" His face flared up. "—I only ended up falling more in love with you."

Eren was baffled; his brain entirely unable to process all of this information. For someone who was supposedly bad at expressing his feelings, Levi sure had a way with words.

"I—" Eren's voice cracked. He closed his mouth and swallowed. "I don't know what to say."

"Good, that makes two of us." Levi's face hadn't lost its flush. He'd never been so direct, so open with his emotions before. It was almost overwhelming for him just getting all that out in the open.

The cabin gave a small lurch as they finally started moving again-their 20 minutes at the top of the Ferris wheel was over.

Eren fidgeted with his key, trying to get his emotions under control and his thoughts in order. He was surprised how much better he was starting to feel after telling Levi everything that had gone down. He'd expected that the embarrassment of everything that had happened would leave him feeling judged and exposed, but he was oddly calm. Levi had reacted pretty much the same as everyone else (except Mikasa, who was ready to gut Jean), yet it left Eren with a sense of accomplishment when all was said and done.

His feelings about this thing between him and Levi, however, were still all over the place; did he want this? Was he ready? Could he really trust Levi?

"Eren, thank you," Levi suddenly said. "I know that couldn't have been easy to do."

He nodded, throat trying to work, but his mouth and brain were still unable to form a valid response. They finished out the ride in relative silence, the only penetrating sounds from the crowds below them, muffled slightly by the murmur of the surf creeping up the shore.

When they reached the bottom of the ride, Eren got out without a word; he didn't even notice when the girl at the door tried to give him a thumbs up. Levi appeared to be just as deep in thought as he was; twice he nearly walked into a bench as they made their way to the park exit.

It was a rather somber ending to what had been an exciting day. They exchanged only a few words as they made their way back to the parking lot, this time opting to walk on the firm surface of the sidewalk since the light was quickly fading.

The ride home was equally sedated; even the sound of the occasional horn blare failed to pull the two men from their thoughts.

Unlike before, however, this silence was riddled with tension. The longer they went without saying anything, the more uncomfortable Eren got. He stole glances at Levi the entire ride back, but the man's face was impassive, ghostly orange in the rusted light emitted from the road lights.

When they finally arrived home, Eren threw his duffle on the ground and collapsed on the couch, throwing his arm over his eyes. His feelings of relief were starting to be replaced by panic; Levi still had not said a word to him. He wasn't sure what he wanted to hear at this point, but he was wondering how this changed how Levi felt about their situation. Was he ready to move forward with Levi now? Probably not. But telling him about this trauma was a huge step for Eren, and the lack of follow up was killing him.

Finally, he sat up and saw Levi standing by the kitchen counter, his back to him. Eren walked into the kitchen. "Are you thirsty? Do you want anything to drink?"

Levi shook his head. His face was still fairly impassive, but Eren saw a look flash in his eyes when he looked up at him. Levi pursed his lips, then leaned forward to brace his forearms against the counter.

"Eren, I've been thinking a lot about how to move forward after everything that has happened," Levi started, folding his hand on the countertop. "This isn't something that will simply go away because we talked about it, and I genuinely want to make you happy."

Eren stood across the counter from him, heart pounding. Where was Levi going with this?

"So I want to do this right. I want to prove to you that these feelings are real, and I want you to see this relationship as a healing process, not something that was forced onto you."

Suddenly Eren knew what Levi was going to say next and his stomach plummeted. He started to open his mouth but Levi didn't give him a chance to interrupt.

"I'm going to give you what you want…" Levi locked his gaze with Eren's and took a deep breath. "Tomorrow…I will sign the annulment papers. Let's end this marriage."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was one roller coaster of a chapter. It’s about time Eren does some chasing of his own, no?
> 
> Oh, by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
> 
>  
> 
> ****
> 
> **PLEASE READ?**
> 
>  **So in case you didn’t read the beginning notes, I was in a pretty bad automobile accident last month. I got a pretty bad concussion from the crash so writing and editing has been extra strenuous for me. I can’t guarantee consistent updates at this time because I’m still waiting for my concussion symptoms to die down. So I want to apologize for this super late update and thank all of you for reading, your support and wonderful comments through my slow ass updates.**
> 
>  **I promise, as soon as I get better, the updates will come more frequently. I’ve got everything up to the ending mapped out already. Just…bear with me for now?**


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